UConn men’s basketball center Adama Sanogo ‘ran out of gas’ last season. How Donovan Clingan can help (Hearst) | The Boneyard

UConn men’s basketball center Adama Sanogo ‘ran out of gas’ last season. How Donovan Clingan can help (Hearst)

We have 5 open scholarships and I don't really understand why we're not linked to any bigs in the portal. I get that we need another ball handler, another shooter, and I get the possible Castle reclass. But that still leaves space for one big to support Sanogo.

Would love to see us add a banger/defense-first big who can give 10-15 minutes a night to spell Sanogo, allow Clingan to be eased into the rotation, and provide injury depth. This is a perfect spot for a grad transfer from a mid-major school who wants to play a role at a bigger program.
 
Purple Stein said:
We have 5 open scholarships and I don't really understand why we're not linked to any bigs in the portal. I get that we need another ball handler, another shooter, and I get the possible Castle reclass. But that still leaves space for one big to support Sanogo.

Would love to see us add a banger/defense-first big who can give 10-15 minutes a night to spell Sanogo, allow Clingan to be eased into the rotation, and provide injury depth. This is a perfect spot for a grad transfer from a mid-major school who wants to play a role at a bigger program.
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I would rather develop Clingan and Johnson and who knows, maybe Springs could help. If we play 4 out, Johnson will probably be spending his time backing up the 5 a lot. The other guys are definitely only 5s. We probably have more of a need for another small ball 4 imo.

I am extremely pro-transfer, but mainly in situations where there is a big gulf between the transfer and our current players. Or when they bring a skillsets that the team desperately needs (like bringing in a sniper. Or a second guy who can dribble without it going off their foot). It remains a balancing act and shouldn't necessarily be a crutch.
 
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Purple Stein said:
We have 5 open scholarships and I don't really understand why we're not linked to any bigs in the portal. I get that we need another ball handler, another shooter, and I get the possible Castle reclass. But that still leaves space for one big to support Sanogo.

Would love to see us add a banger/defense-first big who can give 10-15 minutes a night to spell Sanogo, allow Clingan to be eased into the rotation, and provide injury depth. This is a perfect spot for a grad transfer from a mid-major school who wants to play a role at a bigger program.
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Sure if you want Clingan to transfer next year. This is the new reality.
 
Purple Stein said:
We have 5 open scholarships and I don't really understand why we're not linked to any bigs in the portal. I get that we need another ball handler, another shooter, and I get the possible Castle reclass. But that still leaves space for one big to support Sanogo.

Would love to see us add a banger/defense-first big who can give 10-15 minutes a night to spell Sanogo, allow Clingan to be eased into the rotation, and provide injury depth. This is a perfect spot for a grad transfer from a mid-major school who wants to play a role at a bigger program.
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We already have that guy on the roster in Samson Johnson. We haven't been connected to any bigs because we have 4 guys who could get minutes at the 5 (Sanogo, Johnson, Clingan, Springs) and 4 guys who could get minutes at the 4 (Johnson, Karaban, Jackson, Springs). We needs guards and wings
 
navery12 said:
We already have that guy on the roster in Samson Johnson. We haven't been connected to any bigs because we have 4 guys who could get minutes at the 5 (Sanogo, Johnson, Clingan, Springs) and 4 guys who could get minutes at the 4 (Johnson, Karaban, Jackson, Springs). We needs guards and wings
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I fully expect Johnson to perhaps start at the 4 but at the very least be the main backup to Sanogo, not Clingan. We have to be realistic about the defensive role of a 5 on this team. It’s going to take Donovan some time.

If Dan sees Samson as a 5, then he needs to find a flex 3-4 like Karaban. If he sees him as a 4, then we need a flex 2-3 in the portal (like Floyd would have been or Martin last year).
 
Greedo said:
Sure if you want Clingan to transfer next year. This is the new reality.
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Not with this one I don’t think. He’s a homebody. This probably isn’t the best team for his skill set as it is and yet he‘s here. Dan’s comment the other day was that Donovan needs to bring his offense and Dan will teach him defense. I think Clingan knows that isn’t going to happen quickly.
 
Purple Stein said:
We have 5 open scholarships and I don't really understand why we're not linked to any bigs in the portal. I get that we need another ball handler, another shooter, and I get the possible Castle reclass. But that still leaves space for one big to support Sanogo.

Would love to see us add a banger/defense-first big who can give 10-15 minutes a night to spell Sanogo, allow Clingan to be eased into the rotation, and provide injury depth. This is a perfect spot for a grad transfer from a mid-major school who wants to play a role at a bigger program.
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You hit the nail on the head. We do need a banger inside -- and this should be a very possible get.
 
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Chief would love it if Danny would take a little responsibility for Adama being spent at the end of the season. The disasterous High Hedge defense was what wore him down the most and wasted precious energy having Adama chase point guards 25 feet from the basket and then have to race back to the paint. All of that was ineffective and unnecessary and carried over to his offensive energy.
I recognize acccess is important to a sports writer but not raising that issue makes it a less than stellar article.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Not with this one I don’t think. He’s a homebody. This probably isn’t the best team for his skill set as it is and yet he‘s here. Dan’s comment the other day was that Donovan needs to bring his offense and Dan will teach him defense. I think Clingan knows that isn’t going to happen quickly.
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He needs some PT. Play a 2-3 zone for 5 mpg and stick him under the basket. I don’t care how he gets in but Hurley needs to play him.
 
Hot take. If anything, the film caught up with him. Once he commits to establishing good posiiton before making a post move and kicking it out when necessary, he's going to be unstoppable, gas or no gas.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Not with this one I don’t think. He’s a homebody. This probably isn’t the best team for his skill set as it is and yet he‘s here. Dan’s comment the other day was that Donovan needs to bring his offense and Dan will teach him defense. I think Clingan knows that isn’t going to happen quickly.
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I saw that comment the other day and it struck me as odd at first. Why doesn't Dan think it is his responsibility to teach offense as well as defense? I'm sure it wasn't intended to be taken literally but perhaps a slip of the tongue. Isn't the particular glaring problems with our team on the offensive end?
Adama came here with all that great footwork from HS (you can see this in the videos). What in the hell is our claim to fame for the offensive development of any players on offense since he got here? I do think Cole and Martin improved but i attribute much of that to their character and continuing to build on what they brought here.
 
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dennismenace said:
I saw that comment the other day and it struck me as odd at first. Why doesn't Dan think it is his responsibility to teach offense as well as defense? I'm sure it wasn't intended to be taken literally but perhaps a slip of the tongue. Isn't the particular glaring problems with our team on the offensive end?
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You're reading way too much into it. All he's saying is Donovan will be ready to contribute on day 1 with his size and passing, and he'll have to get him ready on defense to stay on the court and take advantage of it
 
dennismenace said:
I saw that comment the other day and it struck me as odd at first. Why doesn't Dan think it is his responsibility to teach offense as well as defense? I'm sure it wasn't intended to be taken literally but perhaps a slip of the tongue. Isn't the particular glaring problems with our team on the offensive end?
Adama came here with all that great footwork from HS (you can see this in the videos). What in the hell is our claim to fame for the offensive development of any players on offense since he got here? I do think Cole and Martin improved but i attribute much of that to their character and continuing to build on what they brought here.
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Pretty much what @navery12 said. Donovan has enough height and offensive skill to contribute. On the other hand, he has never had to defend a college big or anyone close to his size. Had he gone prep, he‘d be more ready. So he will get offensive coaching but the leap he needs to make on defense is vastly greater. Dan also said he lost 20 pounds. Remember Adama lost 40 pounds beteeen HS and start of the season. Clingan is slow. He needs as much speed as he can get.
 
SubbaBub said:
Hot take. If anything, the film caught up with him. Once he commits to establishing good posiiton before making a post move and kicking it out when necessary, he's going to be unstoppable, gas or no gas.
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I don't think it's a hot take, just a wrong take. He was still creating great looks but he was missing bunnies. The Nova game is the best example. He left 8-10 points on the board on point blank opportunities. I figured he was tired in that game from chasing around Slater and Samuels.
 
runner11 said:
I don't think it's a hot take, just a wrong take. He was still creating great looks but he was missing bunnies. The Nova game is the best example. He left 8-10 points on the board on point blank opportunities. I figured he was tired in that game from chasing around Slater and Samuels.
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You and @Chief00 have it. The kid was gassed by midway through the second half of too many games from having to run suicide sprints between the three-point line and the paint all game long and you could see him short-arming baby hooks, etc. down the stretch. Whaley was obviously hedging as well but, then again, he wasn't a focal point of the offense. That wear and tear had to have accumulated over the course of the season.
 
connVA said:
You and @Chief00 have it. The kid was gassed by midway through the second half of too many games from having to run suicide sprints between the three-point line and the paint all game long and you could see him short-arming baby hooks, etc. down the stretch. Whaley was obviously hedging as well but, then again, he wasn't a focal point of the offense. That wear and tear had to have accumulated over the course of the season.
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The opponent couldn’t have devised as effective a strategy to stop Adama as Hurley did in 2021/2022 season. At this juncture, let’s learn from it, put to bed the center in the High Hedge scheme and start 2022/2023 with fresh thinking and shooters.
 
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superjohn said:
Did he introduce Donovan Clingan as Connor?
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I enjoyed the “I believe he’s going to UConn”. I’m glad they circled around to recognizing Victor as well.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
Why is he running out of gas with plenty of guys who were available for minutes?
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This.

Hurley indicted himself in that article. And it is something I've been getting killed on here for 2 months now.

Our (by far) most efficient offensive lineup this year with Whaley at the 5. There were plenty of minutes to give Adama a rest that (numbers state it!) actually made us a better team in stretches. Hurley admitting that he played Adama too many minutes is recognition of coaching malpractice. Except he isn't owning that Adama didn't NEED to play 38 minutes.


Also I would imagine trying to bowl over triple teams instead of passing for 38 minutes a game can be quite exhausting as well.
 
August_West said:
This.

Hurley indicted himself in that article. And it is something I've been getting killed on here for 2 months now.

Our (by far) most efficient offensive lineup this year with Whaley at the 5. There were plenty of minutes to give Adama a rest that (numbers state it!) actually made us a better team in stretches. Hurley admitting that he played Adama too many minutes is recognition of coaching malpractice. Except he isn't owning that Adama didn't NEED to play 38 minutes.


Also I would imagine trying to bowl over triple teams instead of passing for 38 minutes a game can be quite exhausting as well.
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Adama played 29.2 mpg this season and 29.3 mpg in Big East play.
 
Johnson has a decent outside shot. He will be able to drag opposing centers out of the paint. That should prove to be a good complement to Sanogo. Hopefully this results in a more equitable division of minutes.
 
August_West said:
This.

Hurley indicted himself in that article. And it is something I've been getting killed on here for 2 months now.

Our (by far) most efficient offensive lineup this year with Whaley at the 5. There were plenty of minutes to give Adama a rest that (numbers state it!) actually made us a better team in stretches. Hurley admitting that he played Adama too many minutes is recognition of coaching malpractice. Except he isn't owning that Adama didn't NEED to play 38 minutes.


Also I would imagine trying to bowl over triple teams instead of passing for 38 minutes a game can be quite exhausting as well.
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What proof is there to suggest the offense is better with Whaley at the 5? That worked out real well against PC.
 
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