Former UConn Huskies star center Donovan Clingan is known most for helping leading them to two consecutive national championships after finding himself as the No. 37 recruit in the Class of 2022.
The star center had the night of his life Wednesday, finding himself as the No. 7 pick of the Portland Trail Blazers. For the Connecticut native, it was the culmination of a baskeball journey that saw him as a 7-foot high school basketball player.
But that’s not really the story here. It’s more about Clingan as a man, a leader and his family.
Like we have seen with other prospects getting drafted into the pros in the sports world, Clingan paid tribute to his family.
That included his late mom who died of breast cancer when the young man was in eighth grade. Check this out. It’s pretty cool stuff.
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Donovan Clingan Talks Impact Of His Mom On NBA Draft Night
“A lot of emotions,” Clingan said on Wednesday. “I’ll be able to say my mom’s proud of me and that’s going to be the most important thing for me.”
He also opened up about his love of basketball when his mom was still with him and why he took to it more following her passing at the young age of 32.
“I really didn’t take basketball seriously when she was here, I just played it for fun,” Donovan Clingan said. “When she passed, I wanted a reason to make her proud and I wanted to be successful in some way. So, basketball it was.”
Stories like this put humanity into a sports world that we typically don’t see. It’s about a lot more than a game. It’s about making a dream come true. It’s about family. It’s about overcoming tragedy, and coming through on the other end.
Clingan is certainly someone we can root for in a sports world that simply sees too much drama take up front pages today. That’s for sure.
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