Former New Mexico guard Donovan Dent headed to UCLA. St. John's star RJ Luis Jr. declares for draft
Former New Mexico guard Donovan Dent headed to UCLA. St. John's star RJ Luis Jr. declares for draft
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) sits on the bench while trailing Arkansas late in the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Michigan State forward Coen Carr, left; and center Carson Cooper, center; defend New Mexico guard Donovan Dent (2) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Michigan State forward Coen Carr, left; and center Carson Cooper, center; defend New Mexico guard Donovan Dent (2) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) sits on the bench while trailing Arkansas late in the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Michigan State forward Coen Carr, left; and center Carson Cooper, center; defend New Mexico guard Donovan Dent (2) during the second half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
UCLA has landed former New Mexico guard Donovan Dent, one of the most sought-after players in the transfer portal.
Dent announced his decision to play at Westwood on Instagram on Friday, less than a week after opting to enter the transfer portal.
Advertisement
St. John's second-team All-American RJ Luis Jr. is declaring for the NBA draft while retaining his eligibility and entering the transfer portal, his agent told ESPN.
ESPN also reported Kansas big man Flory Bidunga will enter the portal as well.
Dent was the Mountain West Conference player of the year after averaging 20.4 points and 6.5 assists per game. The 6-foot-2 guard is expected to fill the hole left at UCLA by Dylan Andrews, who also is in the transfer portal.
Dent played three seasons under Richard Pitino, who became Xavier's head coach after leading the Lobos to the NCAA Tournament the past two years.
Advertisement
Luis was the Big East player of the year after averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds. The 6-7 forward was the Big East Tournament most outstanding player and helped St. John's earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But he was on the bench late in the Red Storm's 75-66 loss to Arkansas in the second round.
Luis finished 3 for 17 from the floor without an assist, scoring nine points in 30 minutes. He was removed by coach Rick Pitino with 4:56 remaining in a two-point game and didn't return.
The 6-9 Bidunga averaged 5.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while providing a spark off the bench behind All-American Hunter Dickinson.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Youcef Belaili scores in Esperance's 1-0 victory over LAFC in the Club World Cup
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Yousef Belaili scored in the 70th minute and Esperance de Tunisie beat LAFC 1-0 on Friday night in the Club World Cup to remain in contention to advance and eliminate the California MLS team. LAFC had one final chance to tie it in the 99th minute on Dénis Bouanaga's right-footed shot off a penalty kick just in front, but goalkeeper Béchir Ben Säid smothered it. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were in the crowd of 13,651 at 30,000-seat GEODIS Park on a steamy late afternoon. Key moment After a back-and-forth pace, Belaili came through with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner through goalkeeper Hugo Lloris' legs. Takeaways Esperance will finish the round Tuesday night against Chelsea, with second place in Group D and a spot in the round of 16 on the line. Not only was LAFC eliminated, it has been shot out in both of its matches. LAFC had two goals wiped out by offsides in the first half. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ULM drops women's tennis amid athletic department financial constraints
MONROE, La. (AP) — The women's tennis program at Louisiana-Monroe has been disbanded because of financial constraints at the university's athletic department. Athletic director John Hartwell announced this week that the decision stemmed from 'increased operational and infrastructure costs' and will help ULM athletics 'to continue progress towards balancing its budget' while maintaining an NCAA-required minimum of 16 Division I sports. Advertisement Under the recently approved NCAA antitrust settlement, scholarship caps will be replaced by roster limits and schools will be able to fund every roster spot with a scholarship. Hartwell said as women's tennis players graduate or transfer, scholarship funds that had been dedicated to them will be redirected to other remaining women's sports teams. ULM spokesman Martin Radosevic the administration also 'worked with a Title IX consultant to ensure we maintained Title IX compliance during this process.' Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender. For practical purposes, it requires universities to fund athletic scholarships in a way that is proportionate to the number of men and women participating on their varsity sports teams. While the number of women's athletic scholarships funded by ULM won't change, its athletic department will save on other expenses that had gone toward the tennis program — from coaches' salaries to travel, equipment and facility costs. Advertisement Radosevic said the athletic department expects savings of about $250,000. 'Discontinuing a sport is never an easy decision, nor one that we take lightly,' Hartwell said. 'We know this is tough for our student-athletes and our coaches, who have poured so much into our tennis program." Hartwell said ULM will honor the scholarships of those who want to complete their degrees without transferring elsewhere. He said his administration also will help those tennis players who want to continue to compete to pursue opportunities at other schools. 'We will prioritize as smooth a transition as possible for our student-athletes,' Hartwell said. ___ AP tennis: The Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle
40 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
ULM drops women's tennis amid athletic department financial constraints
MONROE, La. (AP) — The women's tennis program at Louisiana-Monroe has been disbanded because of financial constraints at the university's athletic department. Athletic director John Hartwell announced this week that the decision stemmed from 'increased operational and infrastructure costs' and will help ULM athletics 'to continue progress towards balancing its budget' while maintaining an NCAA-required minimum of 16 Division I sports. Under the recently approved NCAA antitrust settlement, scholarship caps will be replaced by roster limits and schools will be able to fund every roster spot with a scholarship. Hartwell said as women's tennis players graduate or transfer, scholarship funds that had been dedicated to them will be redirected to other remaining women's sports teams. ULM spokesman Martin Radosevic the administration also 'worked with a Title IX consultant to ensure we maintained Title IX compliance during this process.' Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender. For practical purposes, it requires universities to fund athletic scholarships in a way that is proportionate to the number of men and women participating on their varsity sports teams. While the number of women's athletic scholarships funded by ULM won't change, its athletic department will save on other expenses that had gone toward the tennis program — from coaches' salaries to travel, equipment and facility costs. Radosevic said the athletic department expects savings of about $250,000. 'Discontinuing a sport is never an easy decision, nor one that we take lightly,' Hartwell said. 'We know this is tough for our student-athletes and our coaches, who have poured so much into our tennis program." Hartwell said ULM will honor the scholarships of those who want to complete their degrees without transferring elsewhere. He said his administration also will help those tennis players who want to continue to compete to pursue opportunities at other schools. 'We will prioritize as smooth a transition as possible for our student-athletes,' Hartwell said. ___
