BOSTON – Donovan Clingan sat at the dais in Boston’s TD Garden on Wednesday, his sole focus on the next day’s Sweet 16 matchup with San Diego State.
He was peppered with questions about NIL and betting and all of the things that have marred the current college sports landscape and answered “no comment” to most of them, reiterating his focus.
But one question about the significance of the day, March 27, caused the UConn star to reflect on his love for basketball.
“It means a lot. Six years ago today I lost my mom. That changed my life forever,” Clingan said.
His mother, Stacey Porrini Clingan, was a star basketball player at Bristol Central and then at the University of Maine – a Hall of Famer in both places she played. She died of breast cancer on March 27, 2018 at age 42, when Donovan was in eighth grade.
“I really wasn’t the biggest fan of basketball. I loved it and enjoyed playing it, but really when she passed it made me realize how much I loved basketball and gave me a reason why to be great, just gave me a reason to go,” he said. “She was a big basketball player at Maine and had a great career. Instead of going to the WNBA, she wanted to have kids and be a mom. She had me and my sister, and I just try to live her name through the game.”
Clingan wears the No. 32 – which was recently retired at UConn for Richard “Rip” Hamilton – in her honor.
“It just gave me a reason to make her proud and gave me a way to represent her and feel like I still had an attachment to her,” he said. “She was the best mom anyone could ask for and she influenced me in so many ways. I’m just hoping to make her proud.”
Clingan went on to have his own legendary career at Bristol Central, opting to stay home rather than answer several calls to prep schools. He chose to stay home again when it came time for a college decision and chose UConn, where he is hoping to win a second national title before his seemingly inevitable call to the NBA.
Clingan’s postseason performance is certainly something to be proud of.
The 7-foot-2 sophomore averaged 13.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks throughout the Big East Tournament, where he had 22 points and 16 rebounds in the championship game. He had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists in UConn’s first round blowout of 16-seed Stetson and 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks against 9-seed Northwestern – a statline that only three players have ever put together in the tournament: Clingan, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
“Donovan is just a unique personality. It’s just rare to see somebody that has dealt with what he has dealt with, the heart-breaking tragedy, and then has the personality that he has. He’s so alive and he’s so vibrant, and he brings so much personality. He’s a total giver. He’s just a special, unique human being,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.
“Even how he handled — the way he was raised by his parents and the community of Bristol, how it didn’t let him get too big for his britches. Even the way he handled last year at the end of the season. He would have been a top-20 pick, knew he wasn’t ready. Literally the next day just came in and said, ‘Hey Coach, I’m not ready. Let’s run it back.’ There wasn’t a meeting with the agent and a series of drama. He is a special kid.”
Shipping ‘home’ to Boston
Alex Karaban grew up in Southborough, Mass., about an hour west of Boston’s TD Garden, where he played several times in AAU and high school events growing up. Expecting a large number of family and friends to be in attendance for Thursday’s Sweet 16 game, his parents and program assistant Chris Mastrangelo have handled ticket distribution duties so he can remain focused.
“Really it’s off my shoulders, whoever comes to the game, it’s up to them,” Karaban said. “They want me to focus on San Diego State, that’s my main priority… I think it’s special just because it’s in Boston, so maybe a little bit of a homecoming being back in Massachusetts, but I know a bunch of family and friends, whenever they get an opportunity to come down to UConn it’s only like an hour or so drive for them too. It’ll be nice to see them but I think I care more about winning this game tomorrow.”
Spotlight refraction
Most five-star recruits are counted on to be the guy when they get to college.
Not Stephon Castle, who joined a roster of national champions.
“Even when I’m not having the best game we have other great players on our team. We have an All-American on our team (Tristen Newton), we have guys like D.C. (Clingan) that can go get it any given night,” Castle said. “To have that in your back pocket, just know what kind of skillset and the kind of coach you’re playing for, it just gives you a lot of confidence going into these games knowing that a defense has four to five guys that they have to stop every single night. That makes us the best team in the country.”
A different kind of five-star: UConn’s Stephon Castle gets his humility from home
Castle earned his starting spot once he got to Storrs, but he’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer (10.8 points per game) and can sometimes be looked over on the offensive end. Defensively, he is the team’s best perimeter defender and has a pro-level frame that allows for versatility.
He will, more likely than not, be an NBA lottery pick in June. A top-12 recruit, mock drafts like Bleacher Report’s on Wednesday project the 6-6 guard to be selected as high as sixth overall. And he’s fit in perfectly with UConn’s loaded roster.
“It’s been super valuable to have those guys, key guys that have done it before, that can help you through struggles,” he said. “And even when you’re playing great you know that they’re always still there with you.”
Tidbits
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame is unveiling a new officially licensed bobblehead that features the Husky mascot, Jonathan, dancing on a basketball court, on Thursday… The Sweet 16 features each of the top eight teams in the bracket, every No. 1 and 2 seed, for the first time since 2019… It is the seventh-lowest seed total of any Sweet 16 (53) since seeding began in 1979… With a win, UConn would become the first reigning national champion to advance to the Elite 8 since Florida won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.