What Are Donovan Dent's Chances to Win Wooden Award?

UCLA and Mick Cronin are expecting a huge year from New Mexico transfer point guard Donovan Dent in his first year with Westwood.

In an interview on the Big Ten Network, Cronin had high praise for the former Mountain West Player of the Year.

"The Mountain West was a tough league," Cronin said. "At the end of the year (it took Maryland) everything they had, a buzzer-beater to beat Colorado State. We had to play Utah State in the tournament. There's some good teams in that league and [Dent] was far and away the best player in that conference.

"Point guard's a very position. It just makes your life a lot easier if you have a guy with the ball that can really do a lot of things."

Dent addresses a major issue Cronin's Bruins had (especially) down the stretch of last season -- offensive efficiency and creation. Bowing out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round to Tennessee, Cronin new exactly what needed to be addressed and he found the perfect solution in the SoCal kid.

Legendary coach and ESPN College Basketball Analyst, Dick Vitale, is a huge fan of UCLA's acquisition of Dent. In his latest list of transfer portal winners, Vitale ranked Dent as one of the top PTPers (Prime-Time-Players) in the nation who moved in the transfer portal.

Dent was ranked No. 2 behind Kansas State transfer PJ Haggerty. This is what Vitale had to say about the former Lobo:

"Bruins coach Mick Cronin found his floor general. Dent's downhill dashes will have Pauley Pavilion rockin' like the '70s. An elite point guard, Dent was in the top 15 in both scoring and assists last year while at New Mexico. He's got energy, handles like a magician, and he can make things happen off the dribble."

After finishing their first season in the Big Ten Conference with a 23-11 record UCLA's trajectory is looking up for next season.

UCLA finished the season with the 164th overall offense with similar low rankings in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw shooting.

With Dent addressing a dire need for improvement offensively, the Bruins are primed to build off the momentum of their inaugural season in the Big Ten by proving to be a true contender in the college basketball stratosphere.