School starts on Monday.
That was the pseudo-deadline Will Wade gave for his roster back in the spring. It turns out, we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to see the final edition of LSU’s 2026-27 squad. The deadline to add and drop classes is a couple of weeks away. That’s a more likely date for a resolution.
There are still dozens of potential fifth-year additions floating around the transfer portal, but LSU grabbed its second UCLA transfer of the month on Saturday.
Donovan Dent will be a key piece to LSU’s roster this season.
WHAT WE KNOW
Dent is a point guard in the truest definition of the role. His assist numbers at UCLA were astounding.
He averaged more than seven per game, dished out 10-plus 11 different times and twice tallied 15 assists in a single game. His 265 assists last year were the second most in the history of UCLA’s program. Only Lonzo Ball had more.
Donovan Dent in RIVALRY game vs USC:
30 PTS | 10-16 FG | 5-6 3PT | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/XkbIAvwGOY
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) February 25, 2026
The Riverside, Calif., native stands 6-foot-2 and is 185 pounds. He’s played four years of college basketball, three at New Mexico and one for the Bruins. He’s played in 136 games and made 102 starts including 34 starts for UCLA a season ago.
He was a 50 percent shooter from the floor at New Mexico. That dipped to 41 percent at UCLA as he stepped up in class. He only made 18 of his 71 three-point attempts for 25 percent. After a 78 percent free throw shooting season as a junior, he shot 66 percent from the charity stripe last year.
Back to the positives, he was third in the nation in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio last year. That’s the impact Dent brings to the LSU roster.
THE FIT
This is the point guard LSU has needed.
Yam Madar would have been a great addition, but he’s really more of a scorer. Dent dishes.
While the frontcourt remains a bit of a mystery, the backcourt has come together with Dent, Skyy Clark and the wings Wade has assembled.
With Dent’s ability to penetrate and kick, Abdi Bashir’s shooting ability becomes lethal. Bashir shot 44 percent from deep last season at Kansas State. Clark shot 43 percent last year at UCLA catching plenty of passes from Dent on the perimeter. Those two are floor spacers, and Dent is the guy to dissect that space.
If Marcio Santos is on the roster, and that’s an “if” at this point, he becomes another serious threat to knock down shots from the outside. The best thing to surround a passer with is shooters, and LSU at least has a couple.
By the way, while Dent is a poor shooter, he can score. Last year, he averaged 13.3 points per game at UCLA. As a junior he averaged 20.4 points per game at New Mexico. That’s putting the biscuit in the basket.
His scoring comes from finishing at the rim where he’s really adept at weaving through traffic to produce points. He’s not a great leaper, but he controls his body extremely well to finish plays.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
Dent immediately becomes the starting point guard and will be the best passer LSU has had at the position since Tremont Waters left. Matt McMahon never got the position figured out, and when he did with Dedan Thomas, injuries struck.
The game moves extremely slowly for Dent who has an amazing acumen for seeing both sides of the floor and getting the ball where it needs to be. He’s not an explosive athlete which is why the professional ranks haven’t come calling. But he’s got plenty of quickness for the college level.
I think Dent is a 10-point, seven-assist point guard for LSU. If his shooting improves a little bit, he could be a second or third team All-SEC player. Make no mistake, Dent is a difference maker.
I’m still very concerned about the frontcourt, but Dent, Clark, Divine Ugochukwu, Bashir and Mo Dioubate form a really strong back court full of veterans with diverse skillsets. Austin Nunez likely comes off the bench as a backup point guard.
LSU will be able to distribute, shoot, defend and rebound with that group. Now, to the bigs…
