Sometimes even Donovan Dent needs to be told he’s Donovan Dent.

“I just keep reminding him of who he is,” Skyy Clark said of his message to his UCLA teammate who has been pushing through a tough opening stretch as a Bruin.

The most highly coveted point guard in the transfer portal, Dent arrived on campus with the pedigree of an All-American honorable mention who was expected to immediately elevate his new team. Among his many talents were strong three-point shooting and an ability to blow by defenders to the rim.

He’s been looking more like that version of himself the last few games after a slow, injury-marred first month, a trajectory the No. 25 Bruins (7-2) will need to continue Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle if they hope to beat No. 8 Gonzaga (9-1).

“He’s been showing a lot of flashes of who he is as a person, as a player, and we’re all rooting for him,” Clark said. “I think it’s only going to get better.”

Having a week between games might help. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said he’s been working with Dent on his shooting form, which curiously has been an issue for someone who made 40.9% of his three-pointers and 78.4% of his free throws last season at New Mexico.

Those numbers have dipped considerably, Dent making just one of 13 three-pointers (7.7%) to go with 62.8% of his free throws. He barely was making half of his free throws before a recent stretch in which he’s converted 10 of 13.

Perhaps the biggest concern has been Dent’s inability to embarrass defenders like he did as a Lobo.

“In the Mountain West, he was able to get to the rim in a way that he’s not able to get to the rim at our level, it’s just not going to happen,” Cronin said. “At the high level, it’s really hard. You can’t finish on some of the big guys you could finish on in that league — maybe in the bottom half of the league, you could just take everybody to the rim. First of all, they allow you to bump the dribbler; it’s more physical the higher up you go — it just is. It’s not a knock on it, it’s just the way it is. You know, the Power Four leagues now plus the Big East, the physicality is amazing.

“And in the NBA you can’t blow on a guy, but in college, it’s physical, and that’s what people try to do is beat him up, that’s the game plan. And everybody has the same game plan, like, we know, we talk to people, be physical, beat him up, be as physical as you can with him.”

Cronin said he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen over the last two games, in which Dent averaged 15 points and 5.5 assists with 3.0 turnovers while leading the Bruins to victories over Washington and Oregon. He’s also put abdominal and lower-leg injuries behind him.

That’s not to say that Dent can’t boost his game another notch or two.

“He’s got to have more confidence in his three-point shot, his pull-up shot and focusing on his defense on the ball, using his quickness for that,” Cronin said. “So there’s just different ways he can affect the game, which is going to be [key] for him to have a [professional] career anyway. He’s been pushing through it, he’s been working on it, I thought the last couple of games his effort’s been great.”

If Dent needed a template for perseverance amid high expectations as a transfer, he could find it in Clark. After arriving from Louisville, Clark struggled with his shooting and never scored in double figures over his first nine games as a Bruin.

Then came a 15-point breakthrough against Arizona in mid-December and an 11-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist showing two weeks later in a victory over Gonzaga.

“I had a slow start last year when I first came here and then as the season went on it started to get a little [better],” Clark said. “So, I just keep telling him about that and keep sticking with it.”

Money matters

Cronin said UCLA raised more money playing in neutral-site games against Arizona, California and Gonzaga than it would have by participating in the Players Era Festival.

“They raise money for our program to buy players,” Cronin said of neutral-site games with a laugh. “I mean, everybody else can talk about recruiting, you know, write about why kids pick schools — I don’t have time for it. I’m too old, I’ve done enough, it’s comical. We’re semipro, our guys do go to school, [but] guys pick schools because they get paid, so these neutral-site games help raise money. So next spring, when we sign a guy in the portal and you go interview him and he tells you he really bonded with me, and I’ve known him for two weeks,” you’ll know why he signed.

Etc.

Cronin, on the scheduled 8:30 p.m. start time against Gonzaga: “I mean, it’s ridiculous. I mean, why don’t we just play at midnight? … My dad’s real happy about it. He’s 84, he’s gonna have to take two naps on Saturday to be able to watch us play Saturday night.” … Cronin said the Bruins would honor UCLA alumnus Dave Roberts, manager of the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, at a home game this season. … Six years after he uprooted his family from Cincinnati, Cronin said he would be happy to assist new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney with the logistics of moving across the country to Los Angeles: “I don’t know anything about football, but I can help him on where to live and just have his wife call us, we’ll help her.”

The alleged mistress of former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.

The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.

That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now via UMSalary.info.

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As OutKick’s Trey Wallace reported, Moore was fired with cause on Wednesday in his second season as the Wolverines’ head coach. The move came after an investigation surrounding Moore’s alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer.

And it’s hard to imagine the massive salary bump she received didn’t raise some eyebrows within the department.

“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manual announced on Wednesday. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”

WHO IS SHERRONE MOORE? NATIONAL CHAMPION COACH’S STUNNING DOWNFALL FROM MICHIGAN ENDS IN JAILING

Less than an hour after his termination, police were called to a residence to detain the former coach under possible assault charges. Moore allegedly threatened to harm himself and others before being taken into custody.

As of Thursday afternoon, Moore is being held at Washtenaw County Jail. No charges have been filed yet, but he is expected to appear in court on Friday to be arraigned, according to Pittsfield Township police department.

OutKick reached out to the University of Michigan and its athletic department regarding the staffer’s 70 percent pay raise, but they didn’t immediately respond.

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When seven distance runners from Anaheim High waiting to cross a street near campus were struck by a car on Wednesday driven by a suspected drunk driver, it once again brought into focus the dangers coaches and athletes must deal with while training on the streets of Southern California.

For Hernan Herrera, the incident brought back memories to his senior year at Monroe High as a member of the cross-country team in 2009. He was struck by a car in North Hills that ran a red light. He said he was hospitalized for weeks with knee and pelvic injuries that required surgery and left him sidelined for months.

Herrera was 17. Now he’s the dean of students and wrestling coach at Monroe. He doesn’t see changing the practice routine used by most high schools running in the neighborhood to fulfill weekly requirements of 45 to 60 miles of training to prepare for competitions.

“Everyone understands accidents happen and there’s no one to blame other than the person behind the wheel,” Herrera said.

Yes, schools could transport students to quieter streets or hilly areas with running trails, but that would lead to additional costs and there are many schools far away from such areas.

Coaches have been assigning adults to supervise street workouts for years. Monroe coach Leo Hernandez said he got his position in 1999 because he could run with his athletes to keep watch over them.

Maybe there needs to be additional meetings and reminders for those running on sidewalks or crossing streets to be cautious and to reinforce following traffic rules while being on the lookout for distracted drivers.

Herrera said athletes must get in their workouts beyond running around the school track to be able to compete well in cross-country or distance races in track and field.

“I don’t think there’s anything to do to mitigate the situation,” he said.