BRISTOL, Conn. — For students and staff at Chippens Hill Middle School in Bristol, it was far from a routine Wednesday morning.
The gym was packed for a surprise visit -- former student and UConn Center Donovan Clingan returned to the basketball court he learned the game on.
The 7-foot, 2-inch sophomore on the National Championship team brought his Husky hoops skills and a message for the students.
“If you want to make it somewhere, if you want to do something big you have to put in the work and do things that you’re not comfortable with and challenge yourself,” Clingan told the students.
Clingan played referee as kids cheered on the Chippens Hill staffers during an exhibition game.
“This will something (for the students) to remember and maybe keep in the back of their minds when they have goals and when they are setting those goals to accomplish things,” said Chippens Hill Middle School Coach John Dauphinee, who was Clingan's coach when he was in sixth grade.
“The message that I got from him (Clingan) was to never to give up on your dreams and always keep going and always keep pushing,” said Chippens Hill seventh-grader Dillon Gimpl.
Team Dunkin’, who works with college athletes across the country, made this event possible. Dunkin’ representatives also provided donuts for the entire school
Before he left the gym, Clingan added, “It just feels good to be back at my old school where everything started.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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