The Portland Trail Blazers have selected center Donovan Clingan out of Connecticut with the No. 7 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft.

The 7-foot-2 Clingan, 20, averaged 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game for the repeat national champions. He elevated his play during the NCAA tournament, averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in six games while shooting 64.5% from the field.

Clingan, speaking with the Portland-area media via Zoom, said he was excited to work with Portland’s guard tandem of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.

“I’ve been watching the league the past couple of years and see the talent that they have been, the potential that this team has going forward,” Clingan said. “I’m really excited to get to work. Really excited to build a great relationship with the staff, my teammates and everyone in the building. I really just wanna learn every day. I wanna grow every day. And I want to try to bring championships back to Portland.”

The Blazers worked out Clingan at their Tualatin facility during the pre-draft process. Numerous reports speculated that the Blazers hoped Clingan would fall to No. 7.

“I feel like they had interest from the beginning,” Clingan said. “They were my second workout throughout the pre-draft process. I shot the ball at a high level. It was great people. Everyone I love to be around, and I’m really excited to get out there and get to work.”

Clingan went 68-11 in two seasons with the Huskies. The Blazers have won just 81 games with 165 losses over the past three seasons. Could Clingan help change that trend? Time will tell. For now, he said he wants to come to Portland and put in the work.

“Don’t change who I am as a person,” Clingan said. “Just show up and be ready to learn. Be ready to give everything you have every single day, especially coming in as a rookie. As a young kid, you’ve just got to have the mindset that you’re willing to learn and be willing to be coached. You’ve just got to take your game to the next level because it gets harder from here.”

Fit with Blazers: It’s a curious pick. The Blazers went after center Deandre Ayton last offseason, and general manager Joe Cronin called him a top-five center with plenty of remaining upside.

Now Cronin uses the No. 7 pick to draft a young center. Given the team’s lack of overall talent, selecting the best player makes the most sense and the Blazers clearly coveted Clingan.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Ayton has two years remaining on a contract that pays him about $35 million per season.

Strengths: The 280-pound Clingan is considered to be one of this draft’s best shot blockers, making him a potential defensive anchor along the lines of Minnesota center Rudy Gobert. Clingan swatted away 2.5 shots per game last season and altered numerous shots. Good touch around the basket. Good screener and eats up rebounds. Rolls well to the rim on pick-and-rolls. Finishes well around the basket.

Weaknesses: Limited mobility. Not a gifted athlete. Mobile centers could take advantage of him. Lacks ball-handling skills. Draws fouls but shot just 55.8% from the free-throw line in college. His jumper needs work. He attempted just nine threes in college, an area he is working on.

Background: He was named to the Big East Conference all-freshman team while playing a role on the 2023 national championship team. A foot injury during his sophomore season slowed him down a bit, but he still helped the team win a second national title.

-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)