UConn men’s basketball star Donovan Clingan was named a top 10 candidate for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes annually to the top center in Division I men’s basketball, the Naismith Hall of Fame announced Friday.
The 7-foot-2 sophomore from Bristol has played in 16 of UConn’s 21 games this season, averaging 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game. His 63.6% field goal percentage ranks second in the Big East and seventh nationally.
He had one of his best performances of the season in just his third game back from a foot injury that caused him to miss five, scoring 18 points with eight rebounds, two assists and a pair of blocks in just 19 minutes of a blowout against Xavier on Jan. 28. Clingan even made his first career 3-pointer in that game (five attempts).
The Huskies have seen a significant improvement on defense since Clingan’s return, holding their last four opponents to 58.5 points per game compared to the 68.8 points they allowed through the five games he missed. By KenPom’s defensive efficiency metric, UConn has jumped from No. 45 to No. 23 in the nation with its big man back.
Why UConn’s defense has seen major improvement since the return of ‘Cling Kong’ Donovan Clingan
“Donovan’s one of the most impactful players in the country,” head coach Dan Hurley said after Clingan returned in a 62-48 win over Creighton Jan. 17. “It’s like you lose your most impactful player, bad stuff starts happening, you see it across the country with teams. So having Donovan back is gonna change everything.”
Clingan is one of three UConn starters named a top 10 candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame’s “Naismith Starting Five” awards, joining Tristen Newton (Bob Cousy point guard award) and Alex Karaban (Karl Malone power forward award).
The winners will be decided on a date yet to be determined.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalists
Johni Broome, Auburn
PJ Hall, Clemson
Zach Edey, Purdue
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Joel Soriano, St. John’s
Donovan Clingan, UConn
Branden Carlson, Utah
