Syracuse Basketball: Getting 4-star Donovan Clingan out for visit is critical

Now that elite 2022 big man Donovan Clingan has included Syracuse basketball in his top eight, it’s vital for the Orange coaching staff to line up a visit with him in the near future, at least in my humble opinion.

NCAA officials recently announced that all Division I sports may resume regular recruiting initiatives beginning on June 1, and high-school players are starting to plan for official or unofficial campus visits.

The 7-foot-1 Clingan, who recently put forth a tremendous junior year, has whittled down his list of suitors to the ‘Cuse, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgetown, Connecticut, Providence, Rutgers and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Notre Dame. This development came via his Twitter page.

First and foremost, it’s encouraging that the four-star center has kept Syracuse basketball in contention, but the competition is fierce. The Orange likely faces a massive uphill climb in trying to win the recruiting battle over Clingan, a consensus top-60 prospect in his class who attends Bristol Central High School in Bristol, Conn.

I’m not seeing any predictions for Clingan from analysts and other recruiting insiders, although a bevy of ‘Cuse fans believe that UConn and Michigan may be the two teams to beat.

For me, Clingan’s recruitment has proven so tough to gauge, and his top eight is filled with excellent squads, that it won’t surprise me at all if he ultimately picks any one of them.

Syracuse basketball has a huge challenge in attempting to land Donovan Clingan.

Jamie Shaw, a national analyst with Rivals.com, said in an article that Clingan wants to commit before his senior high-school season commences.

Shaw writes that Clingan “is set to start looking at what visits he wants to take in the coming weeks,” adding that Clingan “knows he wants to see some campuses and will try to get five visits in before he makes a decision.”

Obviously, the Orange will only help its chances if the team can get Clingan to Central New York for one of his five official visits, so this is something we’ll monitor.

As one of the premier big men in the 2022 cycle, Clingan would be a game-changer for Syracuse basketball in this class, and if he committed it would also provide the ‘Cuse will a stellar inside presence that has somewhat been missing in recent stanzas.

Syracuse basketball was the first group to offer Clingan, back in August of 2019, and he has mentioned that this means something to him. Whether it will help propel the Orange to securing Clingan’s exquisite skill-set remains to be seen.