Gonzaga’s search for a veteran point guard took another hit Friday, with Donovan Dent choosing LSU over the Bulldogs.
Dent, one of the biggest names left in the transfer portal, committed to play for Will Wade and the Tigers after spending last season at UCLA. The decision comes after Gonzaga had been tied to Dent for weeks and had viewed him as a major option to help fill a glaring need at the position.
The timing only sharpened the intrigue. Less than 48 hours after Gonzaga unexpectedly lost Mario Saint-Supery, Dent had announced plans to return for a fifth year of college basketball.
At the time, plenty of people assumed the Zags were in the mix because of that sequence. But Friday’s commitment suggests that link may have been more coincidence than cause.
Dent’s path back to the college game has been unusual. After the season, he initially said he planned to retire from basketball instead of chasing an NBA or overseas deal.
Then the wave of 5-in-5 lawsuits changed the picture, and Dent reversed course. He and former UCLA teammate Skyy Clark were among the 73 plaintiffs granted eligibility through a TRO in California.
For Gonzaga, the miss stings because Dent looked like the cleanest answer to a pressing problem. The Bulldogs had already lost Jack Kayil to the NBA draft two months earlier, then saw Saint-Supery leave in mid-July. That left the Zags scrambling for help, and Dent sat near the top of the wish list.
He brings a résumé that made the pursuit easy to understand. At New Mexico in 2024-25, the 6-3 guard was the Mountain West Player of the Year after putting up 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 40.8% from three. He entered the portal as one of the most coveted players available and originally picked UCLA from a top-three group that also included Gonzaga and Kentucky.
His numbers dipped a bit with the Bruins, in part because of an injury, but the playmaking was still there. Dent averaged 7.6 assists against just 1.8 turnovers per game for Mick Cronin, and he also turned in a 12-point, 10-assist, three-block outing against Gonzaga in Seattle in an 82-72 Zags win.
Now Dent heads to Baton Rouge, where he’ll reunite with Clark under Wade. LSU’s roster is still being built out, but the Tigers will get a proven guard before they meet Gonzaga at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 14.
With Dent gone and Javon Bennett currently ineligible because of the NCAA’s successful stay requests in Colorado and Ohio, Gonzaga’s situation at point guard is suddenly even more urgent. Nathan de Sousa, the 23-year-old French guard, is also still waiting on NCAA eligibility clearance because of his professional experience overseas.
That leaves Xaivian Lee as the clear priority. Gonzaga has been connected to Lee and Dent as its two fifth-year guard targets, and with Dent off the board, Lee becomes a must-get.
Lee starred at Princeton as a sophomore and junior, then carried that form to Florida last season in the SEC. He averaged 11.6 points, 4.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds, shot 59.4% on two-pointers and 29.2% from three.
His shot improved sharply after the midpoint of the season, and he also gave Florida steady defense at the point of attack. For Gonzaga, he now stands as the guard who could still help stabilize the backcourt.