Clingan's adjustment to college game a work in progress

Nov. 18—STORRS — Donovan Clingan's experience on the court with the UConn men's basketball team has been much different than during his career at Bristol Central High School.

For instance, he no longer enjoys a massive size advantage over everyone else on the floor, and he isn't triple or even quadruple-teamed by his opponents any more.

But one difference stands above all of the others to the 7-foot-2 freshman center.

"Definitely the pace of play," Clingan said following Thursday's practice at Gampel Pavilion. "I was going 32 straight minutes in high school and (now) it's like five, six minutes and I'm like, phew, I'm tired. But I'm definitely starting to get used to it more and more every day, every game. So, I just have to keep working on my conditioning and keep pushing through."

While Clingan is still adjusting to the college game, he did say he felt the transition has been "much smoother than I thought it was going to be."

"I feel like I've stepped up in the moments when they've needed me," Clingan added. "When Adama (Sanogo) either gets in foul trouble or needs a break, whatever. But I've just got to keep working every day, coming to practice and learning more and more and be ready for when the big games come."

Clingan and the 25th-ranked Huskies return to the court tonight when they welcome UNC Wilmington to Gampel Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. (FS2).

"He's a humble kid and he wants to be coached," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said of Clingan. "He knows that there's things that he's got to get better at. Technical things and some different aspects of the ball screen defensive game, positional things. He knows he's got a much different type of challenge tomorrow with a team that won 27 games and is probably the best rebounding team we'll have played in a long time."

Clingan has seemingly done no wrong in the eyes of UConn fans during his first three games in a Huskies uniform.

Whether it be a dunk, a block or simply walking onto the court, Clingan's home-state fans treat him to a thunderous ovation.

The freshman says he tries not to think about the reactions during the game and just focus on the task at hand. But he did admit that he does try to enjoy it following games.

"It's just a blessing," Clingan said. "It's a great feeling. But I've just got to keep producing and make the fans happy."

The reactions Clingan gets aren't lost on his coach.

"I'm from Jersey and the (Seton Hall) fans didn't cheer for me like that," Hurley said with a laugh. "So yeah, it's unique. He's going to have a special relationship with the fans. They're obviously going to support him and also have a high standard and demand for the heights that he takes his game to over the course of his career."

When asked if he thought getting such big reactions might actually make Clingan feel more pressure, Hurley didn't think so.

"Maybe deep down when he gets back to his room at night he may have some anxiety," Hurley said. "But we all do, even the strongest have those vulnerabilities that you have to deal with. But you wouldn't know it by the way he carries himself. I mean he's so alive the guy.

"When you're as tall as he's always been and you've always had people kind of just looking and gawking at you, you just get very comfortable in the public eye. It's been his whole life story, people staring at him. So I think he's just used to the attention."

Clingan is averaging 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 16.3 minutes per game for UConn (3-0). He's posted a 75.0 percent (12-of-16) shooting percentage.

Clingan feels that his adjustments have been more mental than physical so far.

"You've just got to have the mindset that you're able to do this and you just have to put the work towards it and just keep working," he said.

Hurley said it won't be hard to notice when Clingan makes his next transition: from a good player to a great player.

"When he's playing ball screen defense the exact same way every single time his man sets a block," Hurley added. "When he has the technical fundamentals of how to post up every single time with high hands and sit down the chair. When he's really setting those screens like big guys need to. His block-out technique. He's got such incredible hands and feet, feel instincts. Once he has those fundamental things of how deep we want him posting up. All of those things."

Clingan isn't the only member of his family enjoying success this month. His younger sister Olivia, a senior on the Bristol Central girls volleyball team, will be playing for the Class L state championship Saturday afternoon. It's the first time the Rams have made the finals.

"I was at the game (Wednesday) night watching her play," Clingan said. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to go Saturday for the state championship, but I'll be watching online. Hopefully they get the win."

While he'll be rooting for his alma mater Saturday, Clingan knows there's business to take care of first against the Seahawks.

"They're a good, physical team," Clingan said. "They play defense tough, they drive the ball and get to the paint. They're a good squad. It's going to be a good game."

UNC Wilmington (1-2) opened the season with a 13-point loss at No. 1 North Carolina. In their most recent game, the Seahawks fell at Oklahoma 74-53 Tuesday. Trazarien White paced the team with 19 points while Shykeim Phillips had eight.

"They're just about culture," Hurley said. "It's not going to be like some of these games where the other team has kind of wilted. These guys won 27 games last year with Phillips leading that group as a veteran player. They're the best rebounding team we've played. In a lot of ways I have a lot of respect for coach (Takayo Siddle) and his culture and their identity. They turn you over, they rebound the heck out of the ball.

"They play as hard as anyone we'll play this year, and they're really athletic. One through four, we're going to have our hands full on the perimeter trying to guard the ball. I'm just happy to be playing this game in Gampel."

For coverage of UConn football and men's basketball as well as area high school and local youth sports, follow Adam Betz on Twitter: @AdBetz1, Facebook: Adam Betz — Sports Writer, and Instagram: @AdBetzJI.