Good take regarding Clingan! Apparently NBA teams were lining up to take him. Perhaps he reminds them a bit of Walker Kessler?!
1. DONOVAN CLINGAN'S DECISION TO RETURN TO UCONN SIGNALS WINDS OF CHANGE
(Photo: Getty)
NBA general managers salivated at the chance to nab UConn big man
Donovan Clingan in the 2023 NBA Draft. Despite playing just 13.1 minutes per game for the best team in America,
Clingan quickly rose up the NBA Draft boards due to his rare combination of size, agility, speed and pure dominance.
But the NBA will have to wait a year. The 7-foot-2, 265-pound big man announced Saturday his return to UConn for a second season.
“You guys are the best fans in the country, we appreciate everything you do for us,” Clingan said at UConn's championship parade. “One felt good, what do you say we run it back next year for No. 2?”
It's a double-edged sword. On one hand, the UConn big man will be a popular All-American candidate in 2023-24. His per-40-minute statistics as a freshman are staggering: 21.1 points, 17.1 rebounds and 5.5 blocks.
It's even better than Zach Edey's numbers as a freshman. Of course, the Purdue big man went on to win National Player of the Year when he finally got to be the man in the Boilermakers' frontcourt. Edey had to wait for All-Big Ten big man Trevion Williams to leave to become a full-blown star.
Like Edey, Clingan had to wait his turn behind monster forward
Adama Sanogo.
But Clingan would not put off the NBA Draft buzz without some inside information about Sanogo's status. Enter the transfer portal? Chase professional moola? That's up to Sanogo. But Clingan would not sign up for another year of playing sparingly behind Sanogo. It's his turn.
That means Sanogo has very likely played his last game in a Huskies uniform, and if he hits the transfer portal, teams will clear some room by any means necessary.