Donovan Clingan was looking to win his third straight title, but Dan Hurley wasn’t going to let that happen.
The former University of Connecticut star led the Huskies to their second consecutive national championship earlier this year.
For the second straight year, the Huskies won every game in the tournament with double-digit scoring and won for the sixth time in school history.
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University of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley celebrates with center Donovan Clingan, left, after the team beat the University of Illinois in an Elite Eight game of the NCAA Tournament on March 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
The big man averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the tournament, solidifying his status as a top-10 draft pick rather than just a lottery pick.
Clingan spent two seasons at the University of Connecticut and was looking to win his third title.
But Harley knocked some sanity into him.
“I went in to Coach Hurley’s office and I said, ‘Coach, I’m coming back. I’m going to give it another go,’ and he said, ‘You’re out of your mind. Get out of here,’ so I ended up having to go,” Clingan said on the Knuckleheads Podcast, hosted by former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles.
Donovan Clingan of the Connecticut Huskies reacts during the second half of the game against the Purdue Boilermarks in the national championship game at State Farm Stadium on April 8, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“It was probably about four days after we won the title and you know I was sad. I didn’t want to leave that place. I love the University of Connecticut, Coach Hurley, the staff, the guys around me and my teammates. Every time I walk into that building it feels like home. I was back twice last week and I still feel like I’m part of the team.”
Clingan was signed by the Portland Trail Blazers as the seventh pick on Thursday night. A 7-foot-2 star with a transformative shooting style, he averaged 13 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game for the Huskies last season and was a player who developed offensive skills to complement a dominant defense.
He will be part of a frontcourt that includes Deandre Ayton, Jeremy Grant and last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Scoot Henderson.
Donovan Clingan smiles after being selected seventh overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 26, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. (Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Portland finished last in the Western Conference with a 21-61 record last year after parting ways with Damian Lillard.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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