Clingan Expectations - Year 1 and Career

[ManFromOZ]

Clingan is large presence with looming large question marks for the upcoming season. He's a big body who has shown a great penchant for being able to get buckets, albeit when functioning as Gulliver against a bunch of Lilliputians when roaming the paint for Bristol Central. Can he spell Sanago for five to ten minutes? Will he be shackled to the bench like Springs and Samson? One major red flag is his lack of foot speed which often equates into a basket full of personal fouls. Is he going to be Travis Knight or Jonathon Mandeldove over his career? Having a home grown talent helps in so many different ways. The question is what are the realistic expectations.

 

[Rico444]

He's 7'2", so he doesn't have to have a ton of foot speed to be successful. He obviously can't be wearing concrete shoes out there but at his size he can function being a little slower than someone that's 6'9". This is obviously contingent on Danny conforming to the talent he's given, because if Clingan is asked to play the high hedge like Sanogo and Whaley then he's probably going to struggle.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

I keep bringing up Kalkbrenner in regards to expectations for Clingan. Not that they’re the same player, but moreso that his size/skill will find a way onto the court. Kalkbrenner came off the bench as a freshman for a good Creighton team and then started this year, so I would be looking at the same progression for Clingan.

I don’t think he’s going to be an offensive force off the bat, but if he can help eat some minutes to spell Adama and use his size/passing to attract defenders and locate cutters/open shots then he will be in good shape.

 

[AntG168]

Really I would be shocked if he plays 1-3 mins/game in year 1, let alone get on the court. I don’t think we’re going to see him playing until year 2 or 3. I hope I’m wrong and he’s a monster.

While CT’s expectations are high on the kid we need to chill the - out because the CIAC talent is not the best in the country. Clingan was an Empire State Building over teams that averaged 5’9” in height (half kidding).

He’s going to get a lot of experience behind Sanogo and Samson. As long as he stays with the program and keeps his chin up he’ll be good.

Have we not learned anything this off-season

 

[Austin316]

Have we not learned anything this off-season

My bad

Edit : I’ll be a little nicer.
Lots of minutes to earn.

 

[aburks41]

He'll probably get 5-8 minutes a game this year, but if he isn't quick enough to step out towards the perimeter on defense, then he can't be playing against teams where the opposing Center can shoot 3's. That'd be a matchup disaster. I think he may make a bigger impact on offense this year instead of his defense. His passing is supposedly extremely good, and he has a decent stroke from 3. He will be a big asset if he can draw the defense outside which would free up driving lanes for Jackson and Newton

 

[AntG168]

My bad

Edit : I’ll be a little nicer.
Lots of minutes to earn.

Not that I disagree with how this would play out in CBB past. I also think he needs time to catch up to the level of competition. But in today’s day and age I feel like he needs to play around 8-10min a game.

 

[PNolanFan]

I expect that this year he will be a 10 minutes a game guy, I really do not want to see him and Sanogo on the court together and I hope that Sanogo plays 30 minutes a game. Would like to see him get more minutes when we are up big in games as well. Going forward we have to have high hopes for him I think. Would imagine with his recruiting ranking, his size and his skill we are hoping he is an all conference player as a junior.

 

[Verne]

Can he be Sanogos back up this year?

I think that's a big question. DH asks a lot of Sanogo defensively with how he hedges and the expected rotations. I'd be shocked if Clingan could come even remotely close to replicating this style at any point in his career. Will DH plan differently for when DC is on the floor or will he change the entirety of the defensive scheme with both Sanogo and DC?

Offensively he'll be fine. But watching what Hurley has asked his bigs to do defensively in the last few years has me very concerned.

I will say I absolutely love that DC is going to Uconn and that he was made a priority by the staff. The days of watching CTs top players not even get sniffed by Uconn are hopefully behind us. Tremont Waters, Mustapha Heron, Jordan Williams, etc. (yes I'm aware there are other circumstances for instate players and where they may wanna go... But I'm of strong belief we should always be involved)

 

[CL82]

It’s The Boneyard in the off-season and we’re talking about a kid who’s never played a minute of ball for Connecticut, so the expectation for Donovan is Naismith player of the year, a national championship, and tournament MOP.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

One reason why Samson Johnson didn't get a lot of minutes as a freshman was that he didn't yet have the girth (which he will never have) or the strength to showcase his abilities.

Clingan, like Sanogo as a freshman, has Big East big size. If Sanogo is in foul trouble or needs a rest, I'd be totally comfortable having Clingan battle, say Eric Dixon or Jack Nunge or Ryan Kalkbrenner down low for a spell.

Samson Johnson? Not so much.

 

[Kenny11]

He’s legit 7’2 with decent touch and aggressiveness. If he can get under the hoop, he can score, get putbacks and get fouled. He is a good passer but I expect that will show up on games more during his sophomore year. I think this is sanogo’s last year at uconn so the following year Clingan should be able to show off his passing and shooting more. Nobody is wrong to doubt his defensive abilities away from the basket.

 

[Tiamat7]

Have we not learned anything this off-season

Top 50 players play...or they don't stay. Hurley recently stated that he must adapt some coaching/management methods to the new environment.

Perhaps he gets 4-5 minutes in each half to spell Adama. So about 8-10 per game.

 

[OUTATIME]

Here is my expectation for his freshman year...if he's under the basket and can dunk the ball on a regular basis I'll be happy.

I'm tired of missed bunnies.

 

[Tiamat7]

One reason why Samson Johnson didn't get a lot of minutes as a freshman was that he didn't yet have the girth (which he will never have) or the strength to showcase his abilities.

Clingan, like Sanogo as a freshman, has Big East big size. If Sanogo is in foul trouble or needs a rest, I'd be totally comfortable having Clingan battle, say Eric Dixon or Jack Nunge or Ryan Kalkbrenner down low for a spell.

Samson Johnson? Not so much.

I agree with this take. Watch for opponent-specific opportunities. In short, I wouldn't expect to see Clingan too much against the likes of DePaul, Marquette, and maybe St John's (though Soriano would be okay).

 

[PAHusky]

Top 50 players play...or they don't stay. Hurley recently stated that he must adapt some coaching/management methods to the new environment.

Perhaps he gets 4-5 minutes in each half to spell Adama. So about 8-10 per game.

I give DH a lot of grief on this board but I actually don’t mind him not playing freshmen if he doesn’t think they can help the team now, hurt feelings and transfer portal thoughts be damned.

If Clingan can get up to speed, ideally he’d be a great backup to Sanogo drawing fouls and finishing in the lane. I think the college game will be too fast for him initially though, and I think he’ll hugely benefit quickness and lateral speed wise being in a college s&c program.

If we get anything more than garbage time minutes against the punching bags and 8/9th man in the rotation next year from DC that would be great. I think he’s going to be all conference someday, but awhile down the road. Excited to see the board freak out next year when he’s not playing 15+ a game though

 

[Lefty2one]

It’s The Boneyard in the off-season and we’re talking about a kid who’s never played a minute of ball for Connecticut, so the expectation for Donovan is Naismith player of the year, a national championship, and tournament MOP.

Don't forget to mention that he'll do so while playing the point.

 

[Rewster]

Does anybody else here think we need another back up big guy?
What happens if Sanogo gets hurt and is out for an extended period of time?
Not to mention he is foul prone

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Does anybody else here think we need another back up big guy?
What happens if Sanogo gets hurt and is out for an extended period of time?
Not to mention he is foul prone

We have Johnson and Springs as well. I know neither have seen the floor much for meaningful minutes, but those are the options. I would rather see them add more guards or scorers than bigs.

 

[Tenspro2002]

He could be Travis Knight or he could be Justin Brown.

 

[UconnFanDC]

We will know in November - March when the season starts and we see what he iffers and see if he progress over the season. Hard to say without a game being played.

 

[superjohn]

He could be Travis Knight or he could be Justin Brown.

Or Thabeet or Voskuhl.

 

[Jholla2183]

Will play sparingly. Needs the weight room and to drop some baby fat. No way he’s ready to play defense at this level.

 

[yungdowork]

Hurley mentioned that Clingan has been slimming down and getting stronger, which is very good since one of the big question marks is his quickness/athleticism especially against better competition. There will be tough matchups for him for sure, especially against smaller 5s who can shoot, but I'd have to think he'll create more matchup problems than he'll fall victim to.

I watched this video from The Day, and I liked a lot of what I heard from him in terms of mindset. He seems to take some pride in being from Connecticut, and is excited to represent UConn. I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit, but I'm excited to see him out there.

 

[mauconnfan]

Hurley mentioned that Clingan has been slimming down and getting stronger, which is very good since one of the big question marks is his quickness/athleticism especially against better competition. There will be tough matchups for him for sure, especially against smaller 5s who can shoot, but I'd have to think he'll create more matchup problems than he'll fall victim to.

I watched this video from The Day, and I liked a lot of what I heard from him in terms of mindset. He seems to take some pride in being from Connecticut, and is excited to represent UConn. I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit, but I'm excited to see him out there.

Yeah agree about his mindset. The fact people think there’s a chance this kid could be Mandeldove is hilarious. Some can’t see past him playing against small dudes mostly and don’t see the things he can do, at 7’2” mind you. No doubt he will need to improve his quickness especially on D but he will see time, how much is up to him every year. Great to hear he’s slimming down and getting stronger that’s a must.

My question is not just on DC but DH. Will you work on defensive schemes so when he needs to play maybe they can play some zone? Hmmmm