By Michael Letendre
The whirlwind tour for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball championship squad has taken the program just about everywhere since winning its fifth NCAA title.
The Huskies have gone to the White House, honored by the President, and recently, most of the program took Fenway Park by storm.
And that meant former Bristol Central standout Donovan Clingan was in the house when the Red Sox took on the New York Mets on Friday evening in Boston.
The squad was honored before the game as the Red Sox bought the team a little dinner.
Later that evening, Clingan – along with teammate Tristen Newton – helped throw out the first pitch against the Mets.
Don’t forget, Clingan was on the freshman baseball team at BCHS, and the then 6-foot-10 athlete was a big deal on the diamond (literally).
Now at 7-feet-2, he was also a big presence on the mound at Fenway and ended up chucking in a strike.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley has certainly enjoyed the spoils of winning the NCAA title and going to places like Fenway is a huge deal for him and the program.
Clingan had an amazing first year for the UConn team after leading Bristol Central to a 28-0 record as a senior and a CIAC Division II title.
After winning it all scholastically in 2021-22, Clingan turned around and performed the same feat collegiately.
He played in all 39 games for the Huskies last year, getting 13.0 minutes-per-game – sharing the center position with future Chicago Bulls reserve Adama Sanago.
Clingan averaged nearly 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds-per-game to go along with a team-leading 70 blocks.
Expect those numbers to increase by two or three times as Clingan will become the man in the middle for the program this coming year.
Expect to see him drop in a three-pointer or two along the way as well.
And with the NBA on his mind, a possible top-10 selection is possible by the end of his sophomore year, and the sky is the limit for the tremendous center via Bristol Central from there.
If the right, local professional team can acquire his services, perhaps one day, he’ll be throwing out another pitch in the near future from Fenway Park (maybe the Boston Celtics?!?).
