Bright future
NBA scouts like what they see when watching UConn’s Clingan
Donovan Clingan, a friendly, unassuming young man who just happens to stand 7-foot-2 and play basketball really well, was already very popular around his hometown of Bristol.
His success as a UConn men’s basketball freshman has pushed that popularity off the charts. Tim Barrette, Clingan’s head coach at Bristol Central High the past four years, has noticed.
“No matter where you go, that’s what everyone wants to talk about — in town, out of town,” Barrette said. “When you go to a UConn game you see all these people wearing ‘Clingan’ shirts now. I’ve been amazed by the population in Bristol that has been attending games. I go to a game at XL Center and every five steps I take there’s somebody else from Bristol.”
Presumably, many of those Bristolians comprise the segment of fans that gives Clingan a loud ovation each time he enters a game in Hartford or Storrs.
“Everyone’s there to support him, they’re all super-proud,” Barrette continued. “The city couldn’t be happier that he stayed at home to play at UConn.”
But Clingan won’t always be playing so close to home. And local fans aren’t the only ones impressed by him as his name starts going nationwide. Representatives from “more than a handful” of NBA teams have already done character interviews on Clingan with Barrette. One or two seem particularly interested in the big man.
“We’ve been in contact with numerous teams that have him on their draft radar,” Barrette said, “whenever he makes his decision to come out.”
That decision is likely