UCLA men thriving as Donovan Dent has found his groove

LOS ANGELES — It was memorable eye-opener, a confirmation of the expectations UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin had for a team orchestrated around transfer Donovan Dent. At an open intrasquad scrimmage in late August, Dent demanded attention. He created driving angles with dribble moves, finishing those downhill darts with silky spin. He operated in pick-and-roll actions, setting up his teammates for easy baskets. He bulleted a pass to Xavier Booker. He threw a lob to Eric Dailey Jr. He also made all six of his 3-point shot attempts, the final one ending the scrimmage in his team’s favor. That practice remained with Cronin over the next six months, providing a figment to cling to...