Despite the bulk of the National Player of the Year conversations centering around Auburn’s Johni Broome and Duke’s Cooper Flagg, a Mountain West guard has quietly put up a stellar season. New Mexico’s Donovan Dent has exploded onto the scene this year, as he leads a Lobos team that comes in at 22-6 and sits atop the Mountain West standings. Yet, his name is rarely mentioned in the national media, so why is nobody talking about him or the Lobos?
Does this Mountain West Guard Deserve to be an All-American?
Electric Season
Dent and New Mexico got off to a hot start this season, winning six of their first seven games, including a win over UCLA. The only loss in that stretch was an away game to St Johns, who now sits at seventh in the national rankings. So far, Dent averages 19.9 points per game and 6.5 assists per game, but he has provided some All-American type performances. In a win over VCU, he poured in 40 of his team’s 78 points. He also involves his teammates on nights when he shares the scoring burden, as he has notched double-digit assists four times this season. After a second-team All-Mountain West selection last year, the junior continues to shine.
Taking the Reins
Dent is what remains of the electric guard trio at New Mexico last year. That group included Jaelen House, son of former NBA player Eddie House, and Jamal Mashburn Jr, son of former NBA player Jamal Mashburn. That Lobos team was no joke as they also had Mountain West freshman of the year JT Toppin and won the conference tournament. They were even a popular pick to make a Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, they flamed out in the first round, as Clemson handled them with ease on their march to the Elite Eight. With House and Mashburn gone, this is Dent’s team now, and he is hoping to bring the Lobos back to the tournament this year.
National Focus
The vast majority of the national attention is heaped onto the top five conferences: the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and Big East. This focus leaves little room for conferences like the Mountain West, with smaller basketball programs and budgets. Only PJ Haggerty of Memphis represented the non-top five conferences on the Wooden Award Men’s Late Midseason Top 20 Watchlist.
While I agree that top talent is concentrated in these conferences, it surprises me that a player like Dent was not named to the preseason top 50 list and has not earned his way onto any of the subsequent nominations despite his stellar play. This lack of recognition implies that college basketball analysts heavily discount the successes found in the Mountain West. While I understand that the conference is not as strong as the top five, the Mountain West has experienced impressive success as of late, and I believe the amount of disregard is far too extreme.
Luckily for Dent and the Lobos, March is a time for all mid-major schools and players to show the rest of the country that they can compete with the top teams.
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