Rounding into shape: UConn’s Donovan Clingan shaking off rust after rushing back for season-opener
Missing UConn’s season-opener wasn’t an option for sophomore center Donovan Clingan.
The Bristol native, cleared to practice just a week before the Huskies opened the 2023-24 campaign on Nov. 6, missed about a month with a foot injury he suffered in a September practice. Being forced to the sideline as the team prepared for the season came as a form of torture for the extroverted, 7-foot-2 preseason All-American.
He hopped on the exercise bikes and spent time in the training pools to maintain his cardio as he tried to get back onto the court as fast as possible.
“The first game was obviously important to me, I was just trying to get on the court and try to be there for my team,” he said after scoring 17 points in Friday’s 90-60 win over Manhattan. “It’s hard for me to sit on the sideline and watch, I’ve just got so much energy and want to play as much as I can. … I was in rehab every single day for hours just trying to do everything I can, ice and just try to get back as fast as possible.
“Now I’m starting to feel like I’m getting my wind back, I’m fully getting up and down the court like I used to and it’s definitely a great feeling.”
Projected to be a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft before the season began, Clingan will first play a critical role for the reigning national champions as he steps into the lead big-man role previously held by Adama Sanogo – who has gotten off to an impressive start with the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate. Once he’s fully back, Clingan’s minutes are expected to double from last year when he averaged 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 13.1 minutes per game.
“He showed what he’s all about, he showed what our people are all about in the program by really pushing and rushing himself to get back for the opener,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “He didn’t get much time on the court before he got himself out there but that’s the type of man he is and that’s the type of men we have in the locker room.”
On a minute restriction through the first three buy games, Clingan averaged 15 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 18 minutes per game. The restrictions were lifted when UConn went down to Madison Square Garden for the Empire Classic and Clingan had to battle with Indiana’s star 7-footer, Kel’el Ware. He played a career-high 30 minutes in that game and kept Ware in check during what was a 77-57 win over the Hoosiers despite making just one of his three shots from the field to finish with seven points and nine rebounds with two blocks and two steals.
He had seven points again against 15th-ranked Texas while playing just 12 minutes due to some early foul trouble as backup Samson Johnson put together a breakout game. His father, Bill, responding to online criticism of Clingan’s conditioning, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was sick and trying to play through it.
“He’s rusty,” Hurley said. “We’re watching him knock the rust off and again, he’s still a young player. What we’re seeing from Donovan Clingan right now, compared to what we’re going to see in February and March, is going to be that development that you saw with some guys last year. … And he could care less what his numbers look like after games. I don’t ever feel a sense of him not being happy with how he’s being used or how the season’s been going for him to this point.”
Playing the long game with Castle
Despite Stephon Castle telling ESPN’s Myron Medcalf that he is “‘targeting’ a return for UConn’s matchup at Kansas on Dec. 1,” Hurley says the recovery for his highly-touted freshman will not be rushed. Castle suffered a knee injury and underwent a minor procedure after the Nov. 11 game against Stonehill.
“We are not rushing him back,” Hurley insisted Friday. “We’re playing the long game here. We know what we have here potentially with the group, a game in December is not going to make or break our season. This is about being at our absolute best in February and March. But, you know, great athletes tend to recover from something like what Steph’s dealing with pretty quickly.”
UConn men’s basketball routs Manhattan, 90-60, on record-setting day in Hartford
Ray Allen visit a sign of healing
UConn legend Ray Allen was frustrated with the way the program handled the legal process after former head coach Kevin Ollie, his former UConn teammate, was fired in March 2018. The school claimed that recruiting violations gave it “just cause” for not paying him the $10 million he was owed, while Ollie’s defenders argued he was fired for poor performance and that the university was using the violations as an excuse to get out of the contract; they later attempted to file a racial discrimination complaint against UConn.
Allen was disappointed with the university after he was called as a witness in the arbitration case, which Ollie eventually won and was awarded over $11 million. He told the New Haven Register in 2019 that the school’s lawyers treated him like “some type of hostile witness” at his deposition.
But Allen has rebuilt his relationship with the UConn, earning his degree last May after spending time with Hurley’s team during the 2022-23 regular season and during its national championship run. He stood at center court on Friday with a look of gratitude as he earned a standing ovation in Hartford’s XL Center.
“I think a lot of healing has gone on since the Kevin (Ollie) situation is behind the university,” Hurley said. “And then just the volume, to have Charlie Villanueva through, to have Emeka (Okafor) around as much as we’ve had Emeka and Kemba (Walker) and Shabazz (Napier) and Ray and Rip (Hamilton), who is really behind the scenes. … We’re starting to win and play at a high level which helps the healing, and the Kevin stuff behind us, it helps with the healing. It’s important to have the legends around.”
Tristen Newton, who became UConn’s all-time leader in triple-doubles when he registered his third on Friday, said Allen went into the locker room and shared “some stories” after the game.
