Clingan’s impact has been felt all year, especially now as UConn navigates March Madness

Donovan Clingan dominated Stetson on Friday, reaffirming the impact he has made all year for UConn. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

NEW YORK — Standing 7-foot-2, Donovan Clingan is certainly impossible to miss when one encounters his gargantuan presence.

The sophomore center’s unique ability to alter a game and the proceedings within it have been heralded throughout the season by UConn head coach Dan Hurley, and when he missed a month of action earlier this year due to a foot injury suffered in a December loss at Seton Hall, Clingan’s absence was instantly felt. However, the four-week hiatus actually became a blessing in disguise for the Huskies.

“In a weird way, I think his injuries in the preseason and then in the start of Big East play really helped the team develop,” Hurley recounted. “It also allowed him to get fully healthy, get his weight down, and then he’s gotten himself into great shape. Now, I think he’s peaking at the right time.”

“He just impacts so many things. The shots that we get just from the pressure he puts on the defense, the rim twos that we don’t give up and force people into that tough mid-range, it allows us to really blanket the three-point line and allows him to just deal with the handler and the roller with the other guard, and play kind of 2-on-2 in a similar way to the way Creighton plays with (Ryan) Kalkbrenner. He just impacts everything at both ends and I know he was honorable mention all-Big East, but I know that’s not what the NBA thinks about him and what the analytics say.”

Clingan’s emergence as an X-factor began during his freshman season, when he was in a reserve role behind Adama Sanogo on UConn’s national championship squad. Sanogo’s departure for the professional ranks allowed Clingan to continue the storied lineage of big men to pass through Storrs, but not without imparting some wisdom and knowledge acquired through the heat of battle.

“He prepared me for everything,” Clingan reflected. “The way that we battled against each other every day in practice and how hard he plays, just watching him on the floor and seeing the role that I had to step into when he came off the floor. Just playing behind him and seeing how dominant he was, and everything that works for him, definitely helped me coming into this tournament.”

“He definitely learned from (Sanogo),” Alex Karaban echoed. “Just from the way Adama talked to him, I think he learned a lot of what he’s capable of doing, but more importantly, I just think he learned from experience. Going against an All-American every day in practice definitely made him so much better. That helped him make the impact he did last year, and going into this season, he’s doing the same thing with Samson (Johnson) and Youssouf (Singare), too.”

Cam Spencer did not have the blessing of watching Clingan’s development last season, having transferred into the program this past offseason. But the senior is still a veteran, and did not deny how important his stature is and can loom.

“It’s huge,” Spencer said of Clingan’s uniqueness. “It draws so much attention and it just opens up more space for us out on the perimeter. We have great spacing with some of our shooters and I think that makes us pretty hard to guard. Donovan was great today, and he’s been great all year.”

In Friday’s NCAA Tournament win over Stetson, Clingan was the most dominant player on the floor, recording 19 points and eight rebounds in only 20 minutes. The big man will likely see more action Sunday against Northwestern, but the consensus verdict was that he passed his first test on the dance floor with flying colors. 

“Donovan has grown in so many aspects of the game,” said Tristen Newton. “He’s a great leader for us, he dominates the paint, and he plays great defense. The role that Adama had last year definitely helped him out. He stepped up big this year, and that’s what we need throughout the whole tournament.”

Hurley, who was able to conserve Clingan on Friday due to the nature of UConn’s victory, concurred.

“He was awesome today,” the coach assessed. “You see he’s a game changer with what he creates for us on offense, how he spooks people at the rim, the rebounding presence, the fire and the life that he shows up with every day. Obviously the strength of this team is just the versatility of the five starters, but Donovan, he’s the centerpiece.”