SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - UConn men's basketball sophomore Donovan Clingan has been named a Top 10 candidate for the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, as announced by the Naismith Hall of Fame on Friday (Feb. 2). The annual honor, now in its 10th year, recognizes the top center in Division I men's college basketball.
The Bristol, Conn. native scores 12.8 points and pulls down 6.1 rebounds per game this season, playing in 16 games and averaging 20.1 minutes per contest. Clingan shoots 63.6 percent from the field, good for second in the BIG EAST and seventh nationally. He also ranks among the league and national leaders with 1.9 blocked shots per game.
The sophomore has scored 20 or more in a game on two occasions this year, posting a career-high 29 points on Nov. 27 vs. New Hampshire and dropping 21 and 8 on No. 9 Gonzaga on Dec. 15 in Seattle. Clingan has blocked a shot in every game he has played in this year and has 11 outings with multiple swats.
Clingan is the third Husky to earn a spot on a 'Naismith Starting Five' Top 10 list, joining teammates Tristen Newton (Bob Cousy Award) and Alex Karaban (Karl Malone Award). UConn has won two of the Starting Five awards in program history, with Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier each winning the Cousy Award in 2011 and 2014, respectively.
