UConn sophomore Donovan Clingan will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself as one of the best centers in college basketball this year.
He was one of 20 players named to the watch list on Friday for the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes annually to the best five-man in the game. UConn is set to play six other players on the list a total of nine times in the regular season.
The tests for the 7-foot-2 standout from Bristol begin in early December nonconference action as the preseason No. 6 Huskies visit Hunter Dickinson and No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 1, and then play Armando Bacot and No. 19 North Carolina at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 5. He will also meet Indiana’s Kel’el Ware in the Empire Classic Nov. 19. Three other centers on the list come from the Big East conference. Clingan will square off with Joel Soriano and St. John’s Dec. 23 and Feb. 3, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (Jan. 17, Feb. 20) and Villanova’s Eric Dixon (Jan. 20, Feb. 24).
Clingan is still recovering from a foot strain he suffered in a September practice, but hopes to be ready for UConn’s Nov. 6 season-opener against Northern Arizona.
“Playing against the best bigs in the country is something I’m looking forward to,” Clingan said at Big East Media Day. “Kalkbrenner’s a great big, Soriano’s a great big, across the Big East they’ve got great bigs on every team. That’s something I look forward to every day, going up against the best. To be the best you’ve got to beat the best. Our nonconference schedule’s not easy either. … It’s just practicing, giving my all in practice and I’ll be good.”
Forming a devastating 1-2 punch with Adama Sanogo last year, Clingan averaged 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in just 13.1 minutes per game as one of the most efficient players in the country coming off the bench. In a limited sample size, Clingan’s 65.5% career field goal percentage currently stands as the best mark in program history.
Breaking out as the MVP of the in-season Phil Knight Invitational last November, Clingan had four double-doubles and scored at least 20 points twice as a freshman. He was named to the 2023-23 Big East All-Freshman team and has already received accolades ahead of this year, including preseason All-America selections by The Almanac, CBS Sports and FOX Sports.
Expecting to have his minutes doubled with the departure of Sanogo, Clingan was a preseason All-Big East second-team selection on Tuesday. He is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by most major outlets.
“I’m trying to not let the pressure of that get to my head and obviously I realize that my role has changed a little bit from last year,” Clingan said. “Just because it’s preseason and people say ‘best center,’ it doesn’t mean anything. I haven’t played a game yet this year, I haven’t been able to show anyone what I’ve been able to do and what I’ve been working on. So I’m just gonna go out there and not think about any of the ranking stuff. I’m just gonna give it my all and try to help the team win.”
Clingan is the fourth UConn player named to a Naismith Starting Five watch list. Tristen Newton (Bob Cousy point guard), freshman Stephon Castle (Jerry West shooting guard) and Alex Karaban (Karl Malone power forward) are the others.
Commercials Cooperation Advertisements:
(1) IT Teacher IT Freelance
立刻註冊及報名電腦補習課程吧!
电子计算机 -教育 -IT 電腦班” ( IT電腦補習 ) 提供一個方便的电子计算机 教育平台, 為大家配對信息技术, 電腦 老師, IT freelance 和 programming expert. 讓大家方便地就能找到合適的電腦補習, 電腦班, 家教, 私人老師.
We are a education and information platform which you can find a IT private tutorial teacher or freelance.
Also we provide different information about information technology, Computer, programming, mobile, Android, apple, game, movie, anime, animation…
(2) ITSec
www.ITSeceu.uk
Secure Your Computers from Cyber Threats and mitigate risks with professional services to defend Hackers.
ITSec provide IT Security and Compliance Services, including IT Compliance Services, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, Security Assessment and Audit, ISO 27001 Consulting and Certification, GDPR Compliance Services, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Penetration test, Ethical Hacking, Vulnerabilities scan, IT Consulting, Data Privacy Consulting, Data Protection Services, Information Security Consulting, Cyber Security Consulting, Network Security Audit, Security Awareness Training.
Contact us right away.
Email (Prefer using email to contact us):
SalesExecutive@ITSec.vip