NBA Draft Profile- Donovan Clingan

At Draft Nation, the NBA draft talk never ends. We will get you ready for the 2024 draft with player profiles and mock drafts so you can see who your favorite team may add to their roster. 

Today’s Spotlight - UConn, Center, Donovan Clingan

Name- Donovan Clingan

Pos- Center

Team- UConn

HT/WT- 7’2” 265 lbs

Born- 2/23/2004

Home – Bristol, CT

Donovan Clingan grew up in Bristol, Connecticut and attended Bristol Central High School. He also played AAU basketball for the Team Spartans in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Clingan averaged 27.3 points, 17.2 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks per game as a junior and was named the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year. He repeated as the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 30.3 points, 18.4 rebounds, and 6.2 blocks per game during his senior season and committed to play basketball at UConn over offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Georgetown, Syracuse, Providence, and Rutgers.

In his freshman season at UConn, Clingan played in 39 games as a reserve for the Huskies. He averaged 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, while averaging 13.1 minutes per game. Clingan became a starter in year two for UConn and established himself as one of the top centers in the country. He started 33 out of 35 games and averaged 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. After the season he announced he was entering the NBA Draft.

Donovan Clingan plays with an energetic non-stop motor on both offense and defense. He can move well for a 7'2'' player and is able to be a part of the transition. He is effective at setting screens and has excellent hands to accept the passes and lobs on pick and rolls. Clingan may not fill up the box score but does a lot of the dirty work to help out teammates. He proved that he can be versatile on the defensive side of the ball and was able to play up high and drop down in the paint. 

Clingan is more of a traditional NBA big man. He will not be able to stretch defenses with his shooting ability, nor be able to be a playmaker moving the ball. He has not played a lot of minutes in college and he missed the early portion of his career due to injury. There are always health concerns with players that are his size. He lacks the lateral movement of today's NBA big men and he may struggle with defending center's more athletic than him.

Strengths

• Size Wingspan
• Screens
• Rebounding
• Non-Stop Motor

Weaknesses

• Consistency with shooting
• Free throw shooting
• Ball handling

Final Analysis

Donovan Clingan is an old-school big bodied center who profiles as a solid backup center in the NBA. He has the size and inside game to be a beneficial piece to a rotation. Clingan should go in the lottery, with an outside chance at the top 10.

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