Clingan’s mom inducted into CT Women’s Basketball HOF
SOUTHINGTON — State champions spanning decades, influential players, coaches, referees and journalists, all gathered at Aqua Turf Club for the 35th Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
And no doubt, Stacey Porrini Clingan watched approvingly from above.
Clingan, the former Bristol Central and University of Maine star, was inducted posthumously on Sunday. She died on March 27, 2018 at age 42 following a long bout with breast cancer, but has left an everlasting legacy.
Some 50 family members, friends and former teammates were on hand for the induction luncheon, including Clingan’s husband, Bill, and mother, Deborah Porrini.
“She deserves it,” Bill said. “She was not only special on the court, but off the court.”
“She was proud of what she did,” Deborah Porrini added. “She would have been honored.”
As for her mom’s own feelings on Sunday: “Bittersweet. I wish she was here, but I’m very proud that all these people came for her.”
Among those people were Stacey’s coaches at Bristol Central, Joe DeFillippi and Gary Fleming, and at Maine, Joanne P. McCallie, as well as former Maine teammates who made the drive down from Boston. Friends dating back to grammar school and high school and numerous family members were also there.
McCallie accepted the award on Clingan’s behalf.
“Stacey was just the most incredible human ever,” McCallie said.
There was one 7-foot-2 family member who was unable to make it on Sunday. Donovan Clingan, Stacey’s son and two-time reigning national champion center for the UConn men’s basketball team, was slated to fly up from Miami to accept the award on his mom’s behalf. But Clingan, who is working out in preparation of the NBA Draft, simply couldn’t get there.
“He tried,” Bill reported. “He’s very disappointed he couldn’t make it. He just couldn’t swing it.”
In fact, Donovan’s sister, Olivia, is in the middle of taking exams at Clemson and couldn’t make the trip, either. But that was fine, according to Deborah Porrini.
“I let them know that this is what mom would want them to do,” Porrini said. “If mom was here, she would have said, ‘Do your schoolwork, do your job.’ ”
Donovan Clingan will continue workouts in Miami — where he’s sharing a condo with, among others, former North Carolina center Armando Bacot — for another couple of weeks until heading up to Chicago for the NBA Draft combine. After that will be workouts for various NBA teams, leading up to the draft on June 26 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, where Clingan is expected to be a lottery pick.
It will be the latest honor for a mother/son basketball duo who each owned the all-time rebounding and blocked-shot marks at Bristol Central, and each sported uniform No. 32.
Stacey Porrini Clingan was a three-sport athlete at Bristol Central from 198993, averaging 17 points, 21 rebounds and six blocks per game as a senior. A 6-foot-4 center, she finished her high school career with a school-record 1,032 rebounds and 273 blocks, both of which were broken by Donovan.
Clingan earned all-conference honors in basketball, swimming and track and field and was inducted into the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
She went on to star at the
University of Maine, where she finished with 1,128 points and 929 rebounds and led the Black Bears to their first three NCAA Tournament appearances in school history. She was inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
“I play basketball to make her proud,” Donovan said during this season’s NCAA Tournament. “I wanted to do something to honor her and I feel like basketball was the best fit for me because I love the sport so much and she did, too.”
Other inductees on Sunday included:
• Kathy Coleman, the former Portland High star who led the Highlanders to the 2011 state championship, the only in school history. Coleman, who played at the University of New England for four years, is Portland’s all-time leading scorer (1,639 points) and is currently the program’s girls basketball coach.
• Tracy Stolle, who scored 1,924 career points at Wamogo Regional and led the team to the 1995 Class S championship before embarking on a successful career at the University of Hartford.
• Larry Savo, who spent 42 years as a basketball official at the high school and
college levels.
• Vickie Fulkerson, longtime writer at the Day of New London who has covered high school and UConn basketball for 33 years (and counting).
• David Danko, who just completed his 30th season as head coach of the Fairfield Warde girls’ team and is nearing the 500th win of his career.
• Paula Fitzgerald, an assistant coach at Westbrook High when the team won six straight Class S state titles from 1982-87 and the school’s athletic director for 33 years.
Also recognized on Sunday was the 2023-24 Hamden High girls team, which earned the Brenda Reilly Outstanding Girls Basketball Team award. Hamden won a second consecutive
SCC Conference and Class LL state championships, led by coach Amanda Forcucci and team captains Alana Philpotts, Leah Philpotts and Gianna Dommarummo.
“It feels amazing,” Alana Philpotts said. “A lot of people are here that paved the way for all this. It just means a lot ... You can see how big it’s grown.”
Both Philpotts sisters will be leaving to play basketball at College of Charleston shortly after graduating from Hamden.
Also, the Lee Franzman Team Recognition Award went to the 1986 Class S state champion Westbrook High and the Connecticut Classics 2 team that won the 2023 over-65 senior women’s national championship.