In Reply to: If Dent goes to Gonzaga... posted by BuscH on July 15, 2026 at 12:46:38
Just like Cronin's "bad offense", which was easily debunked, you are implying Dent underperformed at UCLA probably comparing his stats with those at New Mexico.
Much of that was due to two important factors: Different roles and increased competition. Being a lead guard at NM he was expected to score and the MWC is nowhere near as competitive as the Big-10.
Complaints about his poor 3-point shooting were irrelevant since 3-point shooting was never a part of his game. In 104 games at NM, he made only 46 threes. He made 18 for UCLA.
Here are the most important stats:
* He accounted for 46% of all UCLA baskets, either by making them or assisting on them. That was ninth highest in the country. He was third in the nation in assists per game and had the second best assist/turnover ratio of any point guard in the nation. He had double figure assist totals in six conference games and the two conference tournament games he was able to play the whole game. Those numbers are exactly what you want from a point guard.
He also scored 25 and 30 points in the two games against USC and in the three upsets over highly ranked teams he went for 23 points and 13 assists against Purdue, 14 points and 15 assists against Illinois and 23 points and 12 assists against Michigan St. and only 4 turnovers in those five games. (In the two NCAA tournament games for New Mexico in 2025 he had 12 assists and 12 turnovers.)
Dent was an excellent point guard for UCLA who didn't shoot particularly well from the outside but made up for it in other more important areas.
At Gonzaga he would be playing in the revamped Pac-12 which is basically the Mountain West plus WSU and OSU, again, not nearly as tough as the Big-10. So what would it mean if he "dominates". Not much.
If I were Cronin, I wouldn't do anything to keep Dent but if I were you, I'd stop posting all this nonsense.