Donovan Dent is already on the Bob Cousy Award radar before his first official LSU season even gets rolling.
The incoming transfer guard was included on the preseason watchlist Monday, a strong early nod for a player the Tigers expect to lean on heavily. LSU missed on RJ Luis, but Dent looks like the kind of addition that can change the tone of a season. He arrives with a reputation as one of the more dangerous guards in college basketball, and now he’s getting the national recognition that comes with it.
The Cousy Award goes to the top point guard in the country and carries the name of Hall of Famer Bob Cousy, who starred at Holy Cross and with the Boston Celtics. Past winners include Darius Acuff Jr., Ja Morant, Jalen Brunson and Kemba Walker. It’s not a straight line to NBA success, but plenty of winners have at least made it to the league.
Dent’s path is a little unusual. He had actually retired from basketball and was not planning on a pro career before receiving another year of eligibility with LSU.
Now he gets a shot to put himself back in the spotlight. He’ll turn 23 in December, and with players staying in college longer under NIL rules, older rookies are becoming more common.
The race for the award won’t be easy. Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., Arkansas guard Jordan Smith Jr., and former LSU guard DJ Thomas, now at Houston, are also among the finalists expected to have big seasons.
Dent’s résumé gives him a real case. In the 2024/2025 season, he averaged 20.4 points and 6.5 assists for New Mexico while shooting 49.0/40.9/78.4. The next year at UCLA, his scoring dipped, but he still distributed the ball at a high level with 7.6 assists per game.
So far, LSU has only had one chance to see him run the show with the full roster after three exhibition games, but the early signs have been encouraging. He played in all three exhibitions, looked sharp throughout, nearly posted a triple-double in the second game, and followed that up most recently with 24 points and nine assists while going 3-of-6 from three.
If LSU puts together a strong season, Dent should have the numbers to stay in the Cousy conversation. That’s the real test here: whether the Tigers give him enough around him to turn preseason buzz into something bigger.
In Other News...
LSU Awaits Huge Recruiting Test As Tension Builds Around Will Wade
The next major recruiting swing for LSU basketball arrives Thursday, when five-star 2027 guard Reese Alston is expected to make his college decision. The Tigers are in the mix alongside Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and Wichita State, giving LSU a real chance to land one of the most coveted young guards in the country and add another high-end name to its future backcourt plans.
Reese Alstons recruitment, though, has carried an extra layer of intrigue because of the public comments from his father, former NBA guard Rafer Alston, about LSU coach Will Wade. With those tensions hanging over the process, the Tigers are waiting to see whether the appeal of the program outweighs the noise around it, and Thursday should provide a clear answer on just how strong LSUs position really is. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Heads Into Alabama Week With One Big Edge And One Concern
The bye week gives LSU a little breathing room before Alabama comes to Baton Rouge on November 7, and the early read from the oddsmakers says the Tigers have earned some respect. Vegas has LSU favored by 3.5 points with a total of 52.5, which reflects how competitive this matchup is expected to be and how much this game could hinge on which version of LSU shows up after a week off.
Health, though, remains the lingering question. LSU has spent much of the season managing injuries, and while some players are making their way back, others are still uncertain for the Alabama game. For a team heading into one of the most important weeks on the schedule, that mix of improvement and uncertainty may end up mattering as much as the line on the board. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Playoff Hope Now Comes Down To A Brutal SEC Debate
The playoff math around LSU is already getting weird in the kind of way that tends to happen when the SEC starts beating itself up. FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt floated a scenario in which the Tigers could still reach the 2026 College Football Playoff even with three losses, comparing the seasons volatility to 2007 and pointing to a path where November changes everything. In his view, LSU would handle Alabama and Tennessee, while Kentucky would stumble twice, leaving the Tigers positioned to slide into the No. 11 seed.
What makes the discussion even trickier is how much the selection process may end up rewarding timing as much as record. If LSUs losses come early and its best head-to-head results land late, the Tigers could be judged very differently than another team with the same number in the loss column. It is the sort of SEC debate that can feel absurd in September and absolutely central by the time the bracket is drawn. [Read more 🡒]