Former UConn, Bristol Central star Donovan Clingan introduced as a Portland Trail Blazer

Donovan Clingan was officially presented his No. 23 Portland Trail Blazers jersey on Saturday.The former Bristol Central and UConn men’s basketball star had long worn the No. 32 in honor of his late mother, Stacey Porrini Clingan, who wore it during her own career at Bristol and then UMaine. But the Trail Blazers have had the number retired since 1989 in honor of Hall of Famer Bill Walton, who died of cancer on May 27.So the digits were flipped – now giving him the most iconic number in basketball – as Clingan and his family hopped on a plane headed west following their celebration of the seventh draft pick on Wednesday.Portland has wanted him there for a while.“Obviously really, really excited to have Donovan,” coach Chauncey Billups said in Clingan’s introductory press conference. “I think all of y’all know how I feel about defense and being a competitor, and he’s both of those things. I love the fact that he’s been coached really hard, obviously with Coach (Dan) Hurley, but more than anything, he’s been coached well. And he’s a winner. He’s just a winner. He’s got winning spirit, he’s got winning habits, obviously his record … he just wins.”Billups said Clingan, who’s won championships at the high school and college level, gave him one of the best answers he’s been given when he asked about his limited opportunities to shoot the ball at UConn.He recalled Clingan answering, “‘I just wanted to do what Coach needed me to do to win.’”“To me that’s just a winner. So however many minutes I play him, I’m confident that he’s gonna be ready to do it,” Billups said. “And you guys (reporters) know that I’m willing to try things.”UConn center Donovan Clingan (32) drives to the basket as Xavier forward Abou Ousmane defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)It is clear Portland, only 81-165 in the last three seasons under Billups, has Clingan tabbed as a main piece of its plans in the early stages of a rebuild. Billups didn’t shy away from a potential lineup featuring him and former first overall pick, fellow 7-footer DeAndre Ayton, who was “incredibly excited” about the selection, according to general manager Joe Cronin.“I really want to put the work in, I want to learn every day to help this organization build from the bottom to the top,” Clingan said. “It’s a lot of hard work, it’s not going to be easy, but I’m willing to learn, I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this team to win… whether that’s offensively, defensively, as a teammate, in the locker room – whatever it is, I’m gonna give my all every single day.”Clingan noted that he realized he could become an NBA player after his first couple months at UConn battling against Adama Sanogo, who was named to the NBA G League All-Rookie Team last season with the Chicago Bulls’ organization.He went on to be one of the most impactful players per-minute in college basketball as a freshman, helping provide a dominant second wind for the Huskies when he came in off the bench. After overcoming foot injuries heading into his sophomore year, Clingan stepped up as UConn’s featured big and reached top form at the perfect time to come away with a second consecutive national title.“Just showed up ready to play, ready to work every day and, in the tournament, never took the foot off the gas,” he said. “When you come into the NBA that’s how it’s gonna be every single night because you’re playing against the best of the best.”Clingan’s immediate impact will be felt around the rim as a shot blocker – a skill he showed off mightily as UConn advanced through the tournament. The Trail Blazers played drop coverage on defense most of the time last season – “Obviously he’ll be elite at that,” Billups said.“He’ll spend a lot of time with that red paint under his feet in our defense, but we also played a little zone, we switched a lot of things so I don’t think that it changes much – other than how effective we are. Our rim defense was a problem for us last year, we struggled there, so I love what we did. We went out and got the best in the draft at protecting the rim.”The Trail Blazers open their summer league on July 13 against the San Antonio Spurs and former Husky Stephon Castle, who went three picks before Clingan at No. 4 overall. They’ll both be ready.“My first year is really just coming in and trying to have an impact any way I possibly can. Whether that’s on the defensive end, protecting the rim at a high level, being impactful in the ball-screen game. Or offensively being able to knock down the 3-ball, space the floor with my playmaking and my passing abilities, setting great screens to get my guards open, great off-ball screens to get my shooters open,” Clingan said. “I’m a team player. I’m a guy that, if coach tells me something to do, I’m going to do it no matter what it entails.”

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