UCLA's Mick Cronin on the Recruiting Pitch to Donovan Dent

Few things in life are sure things.

There’s always the concern of saying something too early and having it come around to bite you in the you-know-what.

But for UCLA coach Mick Cronin, he felt certain of one thing: acquiring Donovan Dent.

In an exclusive interview with 247Sports, Cronin was asked by David Woods about the process of luring Dent to his hometown school.

“Fortunately we recruited other guys on his high school team and multiple guys throughout the years… My six years here, I’ve become good friends with Josh Giles (Dent’s high school coach) and Shannin Sharpe (former point guard at Dent’s school – now Colorado assistant coach). People that are close with Donnie, as well as his teammates here, Eric Freeny… we have many guys that have played throughout the years from Centennial High School.”

Because Cronin knew so many mentors and people in Dent’s life, he felt great about the possibility of snagging him once he hit the transfer portal.

“Once Donnie hit the portal, if we could afford him, we were probably going to get him. We already had the relationships, we're the home school… I think probably the biggest thing he wanted to know was who else were we going to add with him. It wasn’t just about the money. He wanted to win.”

He also acknowledged that Dent knew he only had one year in Westwood and that he wanted to make it count.

“People talk about what they want to get out of their time here, and he wants to leave his mark while he’s here instead of just being here to get paid… He knows he only had one year, and he’s excited.”

When he entered the transfer portal, 247Sports gave him a five-star rating after the lights-out season he had with New Mexico. Every year he played, the better he got and the more impactful his play became.

He used his speed as his ultimate weapon, collapsing defenses and forcing multiple defenders to cover him.

But it wasn’t enough. With that speed and incredible ball-handling skills, Dent silenced the talking heads who claim that “once you get older in college, you cap your ceiling.”

He became a force in college basketball and one of the more underappreciated players in the game, mainly because of where he played.

Now, he has a full arsenal of talent surrounding him.

Former five-star Xavier Booker.

Eric Dailey Jr., who’s poised for a big season.

Shooter Jamar Brown from UMKC.

And last year's leading scorer, Tyler Bilodeau.

Not only is it Dent’s mission to remain the dominant force he was with New Mexico, but he’s also going to be responsible for making the team around him elite.

The Bruins haven’t received top-tier guard play since Tyger Campbell, and Donovan could be making his Dent in UCLA history this season.