Clingan upside

[wingsfan055]

Closest comp is Joker from Denver. Both versatile big men with great size who can play the mid-range and post game.

 

[McLovin]

If he can be a more athletic and tougher version of Zach Edey then we're in business and the sky is the limit for this team.

I feel like I watched a fair amount of Purdue last year and Clingan is already far more athletic than Edey. Edey is just… big. There is a reason why he is coming back for his 4th season.

 

[Mr. French]

I feel like I watched a fair amount of Purdue last year and Clingan is already far more athletic than Edey. Edey is just… big. There is a reason why he is coming back for his 4th season.

I’d say he’s big and skilled…Clingan is big, skilled and athletic. Work ethic and IQ should round out the tools.

 

[EZPass]

Closest comp is Joker from Denver. Both versatile big men with great size who can play the mid-range and post game.

When you said it about Karaban I wasn’t with it but….

He’ll probably average a triple double just like him too

(Hawk cashed it btw)

 

[Ratso]

can’t teach height

wemby not gonna look great 1st season

 

[Rocktheworld]

Closest comp is Joker from Denver. Both versatile big men with great size who can play the mid-range and post game.

Good lord

Walton was crazy enough, but now we are talking about a top 25 all time player?

 

[uconnfan68]

The speed of CBB for big guys can be challenging.. If DC gets in the best shape of his life and plays smart D so that he can stay on the court.. Sky is the limit.. Sounds like he's already working on using both hands (ala Adama) on offense.. Being able to make FTs with decent proficiency will be huge.. Samson/Singare as effective backups will be key to DC's ability to catch a rest and stay fresh- as was the case last year with AS/DC combo.

He had an elite tutor in Adama last year. He knows what to expect.

 

[REB1094]

Am I underselling him if I say that I’d be happy with a Walker Kessler +2-4 PPG instead of Walton, Jokic, Edey?

 

[Shoulder god]

The kid's got a feel for the game and a hunger. Once he polishes his hard edges he's gonna be big time!
That said.. Walton? Joker? That's rarefied air! Maybe Vlade Divac

 

[Huskyforlife]

If he isn’t coming off screens like Hawkins I’ll be disappointed.

 

[That Guy]

can’t teach height

wemby not gonna look great 1st season

I have a bad feeling about how Wembanyama's career is going to turn out. Being 7'4'' I feel like it's inevitable that he's going to battle injuries his whole career.

 

[EZPass]

Trivia question for anyone interested:

Bristol Central High School basketball, in large part because of Donovan Clingan, had a 43 game win streak between Feb 2020 & Dec 2022.

Which CT high school ended the streak?

 

[bluestreak]

I think he's superb at staying vertical against other bigs. He's not going to get many fouls there. His challenge is smaller guys coming into the lane at speed. He tends to chase them and try to swat the shots. That's a recipe for fouls. I am sure they are training that tendency out of him. If Kolek is going to make a crazy left handed layup over you while going away, then let him. You move towards him he'll cut into you and get the foul. Has to trust that his height affects shots and reduces FG% even if he doesn't block them.

Offensively he's got work to do. Looking to see a less rushed approach on his shots around the rim. He was better early in the year than later, when he started just throwing it up too quickly. Obviously the dunks and lobs remain a weapon. I still think around 25 mpg is about right for him.

Agree with this.
He has the IQ and hopefully works on positioning in each situation and opponent on D.
Like Emeka said in his tutorial. You can't block every shot.
I'd like to think Emeka will spend more time this summer working with Donavan.

 

[UCLJ0211]

I see him averaging something like 14 pts, 8 rebs and 3 blocks to put him at All BE level for his Sophomore year.

 

[UCLJ0211]

Trivia question for anyone interested:

Bristol Central High School basketball, in large part because of Donovan Clingan, had a 43 game win streak between Feb 2020 & Dec 2022.

Which CT high school ended the streak?

Manchester

 

[EZPass]

Manchester

 

[Scrutineer]

I don’t care about him taking threes. I want him to foul less and improve his touch around the rim. Sanogo always had touch so adding some range made sense. Clingan needs to walk before he runs. He was a monster last year but left a lot of points at the rim. Cleaning that up would make him a superstar before he even factors threes in.

A coaching friend has a saying about college big men. One good move and they're a star, two good moves and they're superstars.

DC has the right attitude and athleticism to be a superstar, but he also seems like the kind of kid that'll stay two more years to be sure his skills are ready for the NBA, along with his stamina.

He's big and he's a kid. Let's let him develop at his own pace. He made the best decision for himself regarding where he went to high school and we should trust he'll do the same in college. Everything about hims says he's smart and sensible and loves it at UConn. There's no evidence he's going to rush any aspect of his life.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don’t care about him taking threes. I want him to foul less and improve his touch around the rim. Sanogo always had touch so adding some range made sense. Clingan needs to walk before he runs. He was a monster last year but left a lot of points at the rim. Cleaning that up would make him a superstar before he even factors threes in.

I don’t think it’s the touch as much as the rush to get it done. If he takes his time finishing he will improve dramatically. And despite his inconsistent FT numbers his stroke as a freshman is better than Sanogos was. But you are correct in Sanogos improvement on his touch in every year, lots of soft shots that bounced his way because it became so good.

 

[Nick2005]

I don’t care about him taking threes. I want him to foul less and improve his touch around the rim. Sanogo always had touch so adding some range made sense. Clingan needs to walk before he runs. He was a monster last year but left a lot of points at the rim. Cleaning that up would make him a superstar before he even factors threes in.

100% accurate. My concern is we won't have enough shooting where he feels comfortable shooting 3s like sanogo and jackson. He is a poor man's edey and that's not insulting. Jokic is light years ahead of him. The European kid number one pick is crazy better. Touch around the rim is awful, exact opposite of sanogo and sanogo was awesome at the free throw line. Clingan you are happy if he makes one of two. I would like clingan to get 28 minutes, 15 pts, 12 rbs, 3 blocks a game. That is great production. If clingan was jokic right now, big east refs would still steal five games from us.

 

[mauconnfan]

100% accurate. My concern is we won't have enough shooting where he feels comfortable shooting 3s like sanogo and jackson. He is a poor man's edey and that's not insulting. Jokic is light years ahead of him. The European kid number one pick is crazy better. Touch around the rim is awful, exact opposite of sanogo and sanogo was awesome at the free throw line. Clingan you are happy if he makes one of two. I would like clingan to get 28 minutes, 15 pts, 12 rbs, 3 blocks a game. That is great production. If clingan was jokic right now, big east refs would still steal five games from us.

Maybe it’s fair to compare these 2 on freshman years rather than ones junior versus freshman? I mean Sanogo shot 54% from the court and 57% from the FT line as a freshman. Clingan 65% from the court and 51% from the line so let’s remember it took time for Sanogo to have a touch and score consistently. He actually only shot 50% his soph year from the court. So I kinda like where this kid with his “awful” touch stands going into year 2!!!

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Am I underselling him if I say that I’d be happy with a Walker Kessler +2-4 PPG instead of Walton, Jokic, Edey?

Kessler doesn't have the passing skills DC does. It's the passing skills that's going to make scouts think Jokic.

It's not like Jokic was an elite prospect at the same stage either he was a 2nd round pick. Donovan doesn't need to look like present day Joker to get the comparison.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Kessler doesn't have the passing skills DC does. It's the passing skills that's going to make scouts think Jokic.

It's not like Jokic was an elite prospect at the same stage either he was a 2nd round pick. Donovan doesn't need to look like present day Joker to get the comparison.

Thank you. This is the point of my original post. There arent many great passing/distributor bigs. Best 2 were jokic and walton - they were both pass first.

Anyone comparing him to edey or adama has missed my point. We will run more 5 out, and he will thrive, distributing from top of key, high pick and roll, 3 to keep honest. When they put him on block in 4 out, he can distribute away from double team. Its his passing and iq thats the diff

 

[navery12]

A coaching friend has a saying about college big men. One good move and they're a star, two good moves and they're superstars.

DC has the right attitude and athleticism to be a superstar, but he also seems like the kind of kid that'll stay two more years to be sure his skills are ready for the NBA, along with his stamina.

He's big and he's a kid. Let's let him develop at his own pace. He made the best decision for himself regarding where he went to high school and we should trust he'll do the same in college. Everything about hims says he's smart and sensible and loves it at UConn. There's no evidence he's going to rush any aspect of his life.

We're lucky we even got him back for his sophomore year. He's going to the NBA after this season, and if he doesn't we likely just had a very disappointing season

 

[auror]

Clingan has some passing skills, which is good for a big/7' footer. Comparing his passing skills to Jokic because he has any is like saying Andre Jackson is Magic Johnson.

 

[Dogdeacon]

The Jokic comp seems crazier than Walton maybe just b/c most of us (if any) only saw Celtics version of Walton. Either way if returning POY is deemed a not good enough comp we need to more than tap the brakes. What about Greg Ostertag (closest imo), Rick Smits or Healthy Sam Bowie?