Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Donovan Clingan grabs All-American honor

Syracuse basketball high-priority target Donovan Clingan recently wrapped up a monster junior stanza for his high-school team in Connecticut, and the 2022 four-star center continues to pile up the awards for his performance.

The 7-foot-1 Clingan, already named the MaxPreps Connecticut High School Basketball Player of the Year for the 2020-21 term, has followed that up by getting chosen for the MaxPreps junior All-America second squad.

That’s according to a recent article from Jordan Divens, the national basketball editor for MaxPreps. Divens says that selections to the three junior All-America groups were based on a variety of factors, including team accomplishments and individual production.

As a junior for Bristol Central High School in Bristol, Conn., Clingan certainly fared well in both the team and individual categories.

For one, Bristol Central High School compiled a 15-0 record during the recently completed campaign, and the squad also captured its first Central Connecticut Conference championship dating back to 2003, according to Divens.

What’s more, Clingan had stellar individual output. He averaged 27.3 points, 17.2 boards, 5.8 blocks and 3.1 assists a game, per Divens. Those are ridiculous numbers.

Syracuse basketball 2022 target Donovan Clingan has added to his accolades collection.

Clingan is a consensus top-60 prospect in his class, according to the main recruiting services. ESPN recently updated its rankings for the 2022 cycle, and Clingan checks in at No. 44 overall across the country.

As we’ve detailed in a handful of articles on Clingan of late, he holds more than a dozen scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Big East Conference and other leagues.

Clingan appears to be fairly tight-lipped about his recruiting process, and analysts have said on more than one occasion that Clingan’s recruitment is tough to gauge.

Some recruiting insiders have pegged UConn and Michigan as possible front-runners for Clingan, although the Orange and others are seemingly in the mix, too.

"Earlier this month, SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister said in part of Clingan, “He is a seven footer who can handle, shoot, run the floor and protect the rim. He is exactly what Syracuse has been missing over the last few years. A legitimate low post option offensively who Syracuse can run the offense through while also providing rebounding and shot blocking at the other end.”"