Mick Cronin is convinced he has found a hidden gem that would put his Big Ten rivals in complex positions. The UCLA coach will embark in his sixth season with the Bruins after a second-round loss in the 2025 NCAA tournament.
Coming off a 23-11 (13-7 in conference) record, the Bruins are eager to make a deeper run in the national tournament and challenge other top programs such as Duke, UConn, and the defending champions, Florida.
Cronin’s Bruins welcomed guard Donovan Dent from New Mexico in the offseason, which has the 54-year-old over the moon ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Mick Cronin sends strong warning about new player
During an appearance on CBS’ Inside College Basketball Now with Jon Rothstein, Mick Cronin talked about what he expects to see from Dent, a player he believes can elevate his offense.
“Donovan Dent is without question the most dynamic I’ve coached,” Cronin said. “Tiger [Campbell] was the ultimate winner, and I’ve had some really good point guards over the years, but Donnie can take it to another level. In practice, there are times he plays at a speed no one else can match. He’s also an underrated shooter.”
He praised the coaches who worked with Dent before, lauding his growth prior to joining the Bruins.
“He’s a problem for opponents,” Cronin warned. “When you play UCLA, the first challenge is figuring out how to stop Donovan from breaking your defense down every possession. Having a guard like him is like having a great quarterback in football, he can create plays on his own, and you don’t have to draw up every basket.”
Cronin took the Bruins to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four in 2021 for the first and only time. Perhaps Dent is the key to emulating that performance and getting over the hump.