College Basketball: Top 20 impact freshmen midway through 2022-23 season

20. Donovan Clingan – UConn Huskies

2022-23 stats: 8.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg

Adama Sanogo has mostly been the star of the Huskies at center so Clingan, a former top-50 prospect, is limited to around 14 mpg. But he’s managed to have some big games when on the court this season. He had 21 points and 11 rebounds on a perfect 10/10 shooting in a win over LIU-Brooklyn, along with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in just 21 minutes off the bench against Marquette.

The 7’2 center is a quality shot-blocker and capable post-scorer and if UConn could find a way to play them together, Clingan certainly would get more minutes. But he’s shown that he can be effective off the bench no matter how much time he gets on the court and definitely will be a national breakout candidate for the 2023-24 season.

19. Pop Isaacs – Texas Tech Red Raiders

2022-23 stats: 11.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.8 apg

The Red Raiders have been mightily struggling, currently 0-8 in Big 12 play. Part of the reason has been inconsistent backcourt play. The exception to that has been Isaacs, who before suffering an injury against West Virginia, scored in double figures in all six league games played.

Isaacs has had 23 points on the road at Texas and 14 points and five assists versus Baylor. He’s not the most efficient scorer in the world, shooting just 36% from the field. But he’s better from three-point range than he is from inside the arc and has been the reason why Texas Tech hasn’t been getting blown out.