Donovan Clingan says practices at UConn were ‘definitely harder’ than they are in the NBA

Donovan Clingan won two national championships in his two years at UConn, and as the Bristol native embarks on his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers , he may be starting to understand even more just how unique his college experience was.

At the Blazers’ media day ahead of the 2024-25 season, Clingan was asked to compare practices with his new team under head coach Chauncey Billups to the ones he experienced in Storrs with Dan Hurley.

“Chauncey’s great, I feel like it’s two different styles,” Clingan told reporters . “Practices were definitely harder at UConn, for sure. Chauncey’s more laid-back, great coach, but Danny’s intense, man. It’s two and a half hours of just getting yelled at, he’s a very intense coach.”

Clingan also talked about his summer, and how tough it was to leave his college days behind.

“It was definitely hard leaving Storrs behind. Every time I go back to Connecticut, I always go stop in and say hi. But it’s been a good transition. I’ve been in Portland a lot, really just trying to do little things to get better, stronger, work on my body, work on my game. I’ve really just been trying to adapt to this level, adapt to this style of play, and just trying to get better.”

As Clingan has gotten used to his new digs in Portland, former Husky Stephon Castle has been learning from one of the great point guards of all-time in Chris Paul. He told reporters at Spurs media day what he’s learned from Paul so far.

“Just the way he sees the game is so much different from a high-level NBA guy,” Castle said . “I mean, he sees the game so much different, so being able to pick up on stuff that he does on the court is kind of helping me improve my game as well.”

Castle will take the court for his first preseason game with the Spurs on Oct. 7 against the Thunder. Clingan’s Blazers get the preseason underway Oct. 11 against the L.A. Clippers.