point guard

When any basketball coach is raving about an opposing player, that sets off an alarm bell for sportswriters to pay attention and investigate.

It turns out all the good things coaches are beginning to say about 6-foot-4 junior guard Donovan Webb of Golden Valley High are true. Canyon Country Canyon coach Ali Monfared said Webb might be the best player in the Foothill League, which held its media day at Canyon on Saturday.

Webb is one of those players who worked hard when nobody was watching. His focus was on improving his three-point shooting, and all those hours in the gym could pay off.

“I’m a gym rat,” he said.

Last season, he was moved to point guard and kept deferring to other players. This season, he got the message to take charge. “We put the keys to the car in his hands,” first-year coach Scott Barkman said.

With a 4.3 grade-point average, Webb said he understands what his role needs to be.

“I needed to take my game to the next level,” he said.

Golden Valley and Valencia will be the co-favorites because of the experience each team has with returning players.

Valencia has its own much-improved player in junior Steven Irons. Last season he was 6-5, 170 pounds. Now he’s 6-7, 210 pounds after eating lots of chicken and rice while working on strength.

“The day we lost the playoff game, I started lifting,” he said.

Said coach Greg Fontenette: “His development has been like night and day.”

Double-doubles are in his future, and it’s not about In-N-Out. He’ll be scoring and providing rebounds to support Valencia’s talented class of 2027 players.

Saugus returns Braydon Harmon, who had a 43-point performance against West Ranch last season.

Hart coach Tom Kelly is in his 26th season for the Newhall school and 36th overall (he was head coach at Burbank Burroughs for 10 years).

Canyon won a 2A championship last season and lost most of its players, but returning is standout point guard Isaac Yuhico, who delivered clutch baskets in the Cowboys’ triple-overtime championship game win over St. Bonaventure.

Former Golden Valley coach Chris Printz has become an assistant principal, but his son, Wyatt, remains on the team. Asked if his father got a pay raise, Wyatt said, “I hope so.”

Conner Peterson of West Ranch was asked about playing against friends in the league. “It’s the same thing playing against your brother,” he said. “You want to beat them.”

Castaic coach Louis Fernando offered optimism about his team, saying, “I don’t have to coach ego and I don’t have to coach effort this year.”

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With a sudden burst, Donovan Dent accelerated toward the basket for a layup while absorbing contact that sent him tumbling to the baseline.

With an outstretched hand, Dent blocked a shot to trigger a fast break that he ended with his own long jumper.

With a flick of the wrist, Dent made almost every three-pointer he took.

Everything UCLA’s point guard did Tuesday during a roughly 80-minute summer workout open to reporters showed his ability to elevate his new team.

“It just changes things,” coach Mick Cronin said of having the veteran transfer from New Mexico, “and it makes life easier on his teammates.”

It could also quicken the pace of Bruins basketball.

UCLA point guard Donovan Dent says of his ability to make no-look passes to teammates: “Everyone’s starting to recognize that.”

(Jan Kim Lim / UCLA Athletics)

Dent said part of Cronin’s recruiting pitch after he entered the transfer portal was playing faster, helping the team convert turnovers into transition points.

“He felt like I could fit right into that system and he just needed someone he could trust with the ball in their hand,” Dent said, “and I feel like that was what I could bring to the table. So we talked about that, we talked about playing a lot of pick and rolls, and he’s been doing that a lot in practice. So I’m excited to see what we’re gonna get going during the season.”

One of the primary beneficiaries of playing alongside Dent on Tuesday was small forward Eric Dailey Jr., who routinely found himself receiving passes that he turned into points. Almost everyone on the roster has had the joy of being set up for easy baskets depending on how the team is divided on a given day.

“I don’t have to work a lot on offense,” Dailey said of playing with Dent. “I can just cut, I can spot up, in transition I can run and be his finisher.”

Dent said his strong showing was preceded by a frustrating session Monday that drew Cronin’s wrath, something that was again on display a day later when the coach told forward Tyler Bilodeau that he would be playing in Uruguay if he didn’t learn to set a satisfactory screen.

“I got hollered at pretty bad,” Dent said, “because I would make some silly plays, sloppy turnovers. So I wanted to respond the right way and I think I did that today. So seeing it firsthand, being a part of it, I think it does nothing but better the players.”

Reducing mistakes will be an emphasis for the 6-foot-2 senior who averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 assists and 3.1 turnovers last season on the way to becoming the Mountain West Conference player of the year and an honorable mention All-American. Dent said his new teammates are still learning that they need to be ready to receive a pass at all times.

“I may not be looking at you,” Dent said, “but it might still come to you, so everyone’s starting to recognize that.”

Cronin said Dent’s shooting — the reason he was not recruited by any Pac-12 Conference schools coming out of Corona Centennial High — continued to improve after he made a career-high 40.9% of his three-pointers last season at New Mexico.

A faster offense is just one anticipated change with the season opener against Eastern Washington on Nov. 3 a little more than two months away. Bilodeau has moved from center to power forward and Dailey from power forward to small forward in moves that could help maximize their skills.

“I think I can get to the glass a little easier not fending off bigger guys, just space the floor more, can post up smaller four men,” the 6-9 Bilodeau said, “so I think it’s going to be good.”

Dent is one of five veteran transfers, joining redshirt senior center Steven Jamerson II, junior center Xavier Booker, redshirt senior guard Jamar Brown and redshirt senior forward Anthony Peoples Jr. Cronin identified Jamerson, a transfer from the University of San Diego who previously played for coach Steve Lavin, as “a huge steal for us” based on what he’s shown in summer workouts.

An early positive evaluation by assistant coach Darren Savino was supported by Cronin’s conversations with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, who regularly faced Jamerson in the West Coast Conference and called him the most underrated big man on the West Coast.

“He can screen, he can defend, he can rebound,” Cronin said. “And he’s got legitimate size — he’s every bit of 6-10.”

Jamerson showed good instincts around the basket Tuesday, something Booker is still learning as part of his transition from being more of a wing player during his two seasons at Michigan State. Playing alongside Dent will undoubtedly help in his bid to become more of a rim-running post player.

“We’re trying to figure out some stuff for lobs and all that,” Dent said, “but we’re getting it down a lot.”

If one word sums up the Sparks’ season so far, it’s hardship. Injuries continue to mount, and Kelsey Plum, their primary scorer and star, has joined the growing list of sidelined players.

Plum’s absence was sorely felt as what began as a valiant effort by the Sparks — keeping pace with the visiting Storm through the first half — quickly unraveled into a 98-67 blowout loss Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

Already down two key starters — Plum and Odyssey Sims — the Sparks were forced to piece together a new starting lineup on short notice. Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson, Azurá Stevens, Sarah Ashlee Barker and newly acquired Shey Peddy marked the Sparks’ fifth different starting five this season.

“We obviously missed [Plum],” coach Lynne Roberts said. “We missed Odyssey. We missed Julie [Allemand]. Those are our three lead guards, and none of them are here.”

Plum was out with a leg injury, Sims for personal reasons and Allemand is with the Belgium national team for the European basketball championship. Plum’s absence was the most felt — she is averaging career highs in points (20.9), assists (5.6), rebounds (2.9) and steals (1.7) so far this season.

Peddy, signed to a hardship contract, joined the team just before Saturday’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx. Since then, she has had just one practice under her belt before stepping in to replace Plum at point guard.

Also signed under a hardship exception, Grace Berger flew in late Monday and joined the team just hours before the game. Berger went scoreless in16 minutes.

“I thought Shey and Grace did a good job,” Roberts said. “They did what they could, but it’s hard to execute stuff that they’ve had little time to digest. It’s not anyone’s fault. That’s just the reality.”

Running the offense through their anchor, Hamby, the Sparks (4-9) held their own through the first 20 minutes, refusing to waver. They trailed 47-37 by halftime.

Hamby finished with a season-low eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

But the resilience was short-lived. As the game wore on, cracks in the offense widened. Careless passes led to a flurry of turnovers.

Seattle’s Gabby Williams set the tone early with six steals in the first half. She finished with eight, along with 11 points and seven assists. The Storm scored 31 points off 24 Sparks turnovers, with 24 of those points coming on fast breaks.

A 14–5 run — led by former Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike — gave Seattle (7-5) a 62–42 lead with 5:37 left in the third. Ogwumike scored 10 of her 26 points in the quarter.

“In the second half, we couldn’t get a stop,” Roberts said. “We’ve got to be able to defend. We can’t give up 98 points and expect to beat anybody.”

Stevens echoed her coach’s sentiment: “Obviously, we have key people out, but we have enough to still execute and get things done. And it starts defensively.”

Several Sparks starters — including Hamby, Jackson and Stevens — remained in the game late into the fourth, but the deficit had long grown insurmountable, with the team trailing by as many as 30 points. Jackson led the Sparks with 17 points, while Stevens finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The news of Plum’s absence came as a surprise just after practice on Monday, with the Sparks ruling her out because of a lower leg injury.

Dominique Malonga, the 2025 first-round draft pick subsequently chosen as part of the three-team trade for Plum, finished with seven points in 12 minutes for Seattle.

It’s still unclear when Plum sustained the injury, though it presumably happened during Saturday’s loss to the Lynx. She underwent imaging the next day, but the team says the results offered little clarity.

Even more uncertain is her return timeline. It’s unclear if she will play Saturday against Minnesota. Roberts said Plum is “tuned in to her body — she’ll know when she’s ready to go.”

Through the first 12 games of the season, only Atlanta Dream star Rhyne Howard is averaging more minutes per game than Plum’s 36.

“I still believe strongly in this group, and we’re not even close to full strength,” Roberts said. “We have Kelsey Plum, Odyssey Sims, Julie Allemand, Rae Burrell and Cameron Brink all out. And when we’re going into the season, we’re thinking, Plum, Sims, Allemand, Burrell and Brink are all going to be huge parts. So we cannot lose perspective.”

But a prolonged absence for Plum could spell serious trouble for a team already reeling.