Who is Donovan Clingan? What to know of UConn basketball star for Final Four game vs Alabama

Alabama basketball's front line has been tested this season with matchups against talented big men.

The 4 seed Crimson Tide (25-11) have risen to the challenge, especially of late. It played talented UNC big man Armando Bacot in the Sweet 16, with Bacot putting up 19 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort. Alabama has also played against Zach Edey (Purdue), Tolu Smith III (Mississippi State) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) earlier in the season. But the Crimson Tide will be tested in a new way when it faces No. 1 overall seed UConn and star big man Donovan Clingan.

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Clingan, a sophomore, has enjoyed a strong NCAA Tournament, averaging 15.8 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 blocks and 2 assists per game. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals in the 77-52 victory over Illinois in the Elite Eight, and had eight blocks in the second-round victory over Northwestern.

The Fighting Illini struggled when Clingan was on the court, shooting 3 for 25 inside the arc and 0 for 19 when they challenged him directly, per ESPN Stats & Info. And the Crimson Tide is preparing to play Clingan by having 2002 SEC Player of the Year Erwin Dudley, 42, filling the Clingan role in practices this week.

"Erwin was the SEC player of the year and scored pretty well in the post," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "He's not as young as Clingan and he's not near as big so he can't give us the exact look. But he gives us a pretty good look on a lot of post players in practice. So it's nice we have Erwin who's a grad assistant who's able to go on scout team sometimes."

Here's what you need to know about Clingan, including his height, recruitment, stats and more.

Donovan Clingan height

Clingan is listed at 7-foot-2 and 280 pounds on the UConn roster. Per ESPN's Jonathan Givony, Clingan is expected to measure at 7-3 and with a 7-7 wingspan at the NBA combine.

Donovan Clingan stats

Clingan's 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game won't scream top-tier player at first glance, but the sophomore has averaged 22.1 minutes per game this season on a loaded UConn team. If his numbers were extrapolated to 40 minutes, he would average 23.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 2.8 assists and one steal per game.

Here's a year-by-year breakdown of Clingan's stats at UConn:

• 2022-23: Totals: 269 total points, 219 total rebounds, 70 total blocks | Per game: 6.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds per game and 65.5% shooting from the field

• 2023-24: Totals: 426 total points, 248 total rebounds, 81 total blocks | Per game: 12.9 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and 64.3% shooting from the field

• Career: 695 total points, 467 total rebounds, 151 total blocks, 9.7 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game and 55.2% shooting from the field

Donovan Clingan high school

Clingan attended Bristol Central High in Bristol, Connecticut, where his mother Stacey Clingan also played and set school records for career rebounds and blocks. She played college basketball at Maine. Stacey Clingan died from complications from breast cancer in 2018.

Clingan averaged 27.3 points, 17.2 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks per game in high school, earning Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a junior. He repeated the honors as a senior, averaging 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds, and 6.2 blocks.

Donovan Clingan recruitment

Clingan committed to UConn on July 2, 2021, picking the Huskies over offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Syracuse, among others. He was the No. 56 player in the 2022 recruiting class, the No. 13 center and the No. 2 player from Connecticut, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. Clingan was the only rated high school prospect in the class for the Huskies, which sat No. 79th in 247Sports' Compsite team recruiting rankings.

Donovan Clingan NBA mock drafts

Clingan projects as a lottery pick by most NBA draft analysts. The UConn big man is the top-ranked ranked prospect in the Final Four and the No. 3 overall ranked prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo.

He could further cement himself as a top-three pick if he has an impressive showing in the Final Four, including a potential championship game matchup with Purdue's big man Zach Edey.

• ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (as of April 2): No. 3 to the Charlotte Hornets.

• Bleacher Reports' Jonathan Wasserman (as of April 3): No. 5 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

• USA Today Sports' Jeff Zilgritt and Scooby Axson (as of March 20): No. 14 to the New Orleans Pelicans.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Who is Donovan Clingan? UConn basketball star's height, stats ahead of Alabama game