Donovan Clingan is a UConn men’s basketball legend, and he will walk away with two national championships in two years when he leaves Storrs for the NBA.
Someday he’ll probably find himself inducted into the Hall of Fame somewhere (or a few of them), and when that day comes, he’ll be able to say he joined his mother as a Hall of Famer. Fame.
Stacey Porrini Clingan was posthumously inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday. She died in 2018 at the age of 42 after a fierce battle with breast cancer.
As a 6-foot-4 center on the University of Maine women’s basketball team from 1993 to 1997, then known as Stacey Porrini, she finished with 1,128 points and 929 rebounds and helped the Black Bears win their first three NCAA tournaments. appearances in school history.
Prior to her time at Maine, she was a standout at Bristol Central High School, excelling not only in basketball but also in swimming and track and field. She set school records in rebounds (1,032) and blocks (273), averaging a mind-blowing 17 points, 21 rebounds and six blocks per game. She was named an All-Conference Fellow in all three sports and was inducted into the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
UConn men’s notes: Ahead of Sweet 16, Clingan reflects on his late mother’s impact
“We all admired Stacey for her strength and leadership,” her coach at Maine, Joanne P. McCallie, told the Hall of Fame website. “Her consistent leadership and character had a positive impact on all who had the pleasure of knowing her or being a teammate. Stacey worked very hard and wasn’t afraid to dream big. We miss her.
Stacey earned her undergraduate degree from Maine in elementary education and her master’s degree from Central Connecticut State, before teaching at Ellen P. Hubbell and Greene-Hills schools in Bristol.
Donovan Clingan wore Stacey’s No. 32 at UConn.
“It just gave me a reason to make her proud and gave me a way to represent her and feel like I still had an attachment to her,” Clingan said during the NCAA Tournament last month. “She was the best mom anyone could ask for and she influenced me in so many ways. I just hope to make her proud.
