LOS ANGELES — California’s Mr. Basketball is back to prove he’s still the man of the state.

For three years, Donovan Dent left his roots. Not by choice, rather because of a mission. After West Coast blue bloods overlooked him, he willingly went to New Mexico. His success there secured him a ticket home.

A ticket back to his support system. A ticket back to workouts in his high school gym with his lifelong trainer. A ticket back to weekly family gatherings, his stepdad’s grilling, his mother’s embrace, the warmth of his grandmother’s voice asking him, “Baby, what do you want to eat?”

A ticket to his dream school that once disregarded him, but now needs him to be their hero.

From a young age, Dent wanted to play basketball at UCLA. He thought he did enough to seize that opportunity. But

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