{"id":10742,"date":"2025-06-24T12:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/10742\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:48:16","slug":"nique-cliffords-path-to-the-nba-draft-is-becoming-a-rarity-the-mid-major-star-who-stayed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/10742\/","title":{"rendered":"Nique Clifford\u2019s path to the NBA Draft is becoming a rarity: The mid-major star who stayed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nique Clifford calls himself a \u201cdying breed.\u201d The history of basketball features plenty of success stories like his \u2014 players who stuck with a mid-major, were rewarded as high draft picks and turned into great pros \u2014 a list that includes the likes of Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Pascal Siakam. But will the sport\u2019s future have many more of those stories?<\/p>\n

If those current NBA stars went through college just a few years later, they would have had to deal with the temptation of a bigger payday to transfer to another school.<\/p>\n

When Clifford, who broke out as a true senior at Colorado State after three years as a role player at Colorado, decided to return to college after mixed feedback during the NBA Draft process, he had options. High-major schools let his agents know that they were interested, and Clifford said multiple schools offered at least $1 million. Colorado State could not match or even come close to it, but Clifford never hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not about the money,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was moreso a long-term investment. I knew, going back to CSU, I was going to be in a great situation. I was going to be around a great staff and great people that I love being around every day and continue to grow with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the other side of things where you\u2019re not in a good situation, necessarily, so I didn\u2019t want to risk doing that for some extra change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Clifford, who is expected to be a first-round pick in this week\u2019s NBA Draft with a chance to sneak into the lottery, could be one of the last of his kind.<\/p>\n

Sam Vecenie\u2019s latest mock draft for The Athletic<\/a> projects 13 players who transferred up to higher-level Division I basketball programs during their college career. (Clifford is one of just three projected first-rounders to finish their college careers outside of the traditional high-major conferences: the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Big East.) That is the new pathway for most mid-major stars: Develop at a smaller school, emerge as a star, transfer up and get paid, show your talent on that stage and get drafted.<\/p>\n

That last step doesn\u2019t always come to fruition. Transferring brings an element of uncertainty that Clifford did not want to risk. And his bet on himself already feels like an exception to the rule that money drives everything in the race to the top of the basketball world.<\/p>\n

Clifford was far from the NBA\u2019s radar in March 2023, when he entered the transfer portal after three seasons at Colorado. He became a starter midway through his sophomore season, but the Derrick White\/Spencer Dinwiddie-esque creator role coaches initially pitched to him never materialized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to finish out my career there and be loyal, but in terms of getting to where I wanted to be, it just wasn\u2019t going to happen there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Clifford was more of a 3-and-D wing, spending most offensive possessions in the corner. The problem was his 3-point percentage dipped to a career-worst 28.8 percent his junior season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t a lot of 3,\u201d said Colorado State head coach Ali Farokhmanesh, who was promoted from an assistant role this spring. \u201cIt was only D.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farokhmanesh had recruited Clifford out of high school and saw him then as more of a point guard: \u201cHe made plays that other kids didn\u2019t see.\u201d Farokhmanesh was Clifford\u2019s first call, two minutes after his name showed up in the NCAA transfer portal.<\/p>\n

Clifford, who is originally from Colorado Springs, wanted to get out of the state to start over, but former CSU coach Niko Medved and Farokhmanesh\u2019s belief in his game and vision for what he could become was the perfect marriage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nique Clifford more than doubled his scoring average in his first year after transferring down from Colorado. (Stephen Brashear \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

When Clifford arrived in the summer of 2023, Farokhmanesh implemented a developmental plan that started with addressing his shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was some mechanical stuff that he had to work on,\u201d Farokhmanesh said. \u201cHis feet were not good. They weren\u2019t strong. The follow-through wasn\u2019t consistent, and the rotation of the ball wasn\u2019t consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clifford was also apprehensive when he got open looks, opting instead to drive during summer pickup games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could tell he was a little broken,\u201d Medved said.<\/p>\n

Clifford slowly started to play more like he had in high school. It helped that point guard Isaiah Stevens told him his teammates wanted him to take those open shots, make or miss.<\/p>\n

The 2023-24 Rams got off to a 9-0 start, including wins over No. 8 Creighton and Clifford\u2019s former team, Colorado. Clifford scored double figures in seven of those games.<\/p>\n

In Medved\u2019s motion offense, which involves all five players reading and reacting to the defense, Clifford played instinctively and quit overthinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really did an unbelievable job of just kind of giving himself over to what we were asking him to do,\u201d Medved said.<\/p>\n

Clifford more than doubled his scoring average (12.2), doubled his assists (3.0), nearly doubled his rebounding (7.6) and shot career-best numbers inside the arc (59.7) and from deep (37.7). The Rams made the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence, and Clifford started appearing on draft boards.<\/p>\n

But when the feedback wasn\u2019t quite what he wanted, Clifford decided to return for a fifth season and see what it was like to be the face of a program.<\/p>\n

Before every game, Farokhmanesh handed Clifford a notecard with a message: Mask on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would invite him over to babysit your kids, and he\u2019d put them to bed and then clean your house after too,\u201d Farokhmanesh said. \u201cHe\u2019s salt of the earth.\u201d But Farokhmanesh wanted Clifford to be more of a killer on the court, creating an alter ego more aligned with the Joker tattoo on his left forearm.<\/p>\n

In his first season with the Rams, Clifford mostly blended in: Despite his pro potential, he had only the fourth-highest usage rate on the team. Last season, the Rams needed Clifford to take the most shots, facilitate, rebound and be the team\u2019s best defender.<\/p>\n

Clifford arrived early before practice every day to work with Farokhmanesh, stayed after practice for more work and returned at night to work out on his own. The personal results followed at the beginning of his final college season, but the Rams got off to a shaky 6-5 start. It would have been easy to point fingers, especially when Clifford started to hear from the doubters.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven family and friends were telling us we were trash,\u201d Clifford said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say his name, but one of my uncles, he was just like, \u2018Man, y\u2019all are not very good. I\u2019m a not a big believer. I\u2019m not a fan of the point guard. You\u2019re just having to do too much and too much on your plate. Y\u2019all aren\u2019t going to be very good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no panic,\u201d Medved said. \u201cNique was unbelievable, because as a coach, you\u2019re like, \u2018All right, this kid\u2019s coming back. Obviously, he wants to go play in the NBA. Is he just going to worry about himself, right?\u2019 And he did the opposite. He was just so consumed with what our team needed to do on both ends of the floor, how he could help us and just the way he modeled that every day for our guys, he did everything and anything I ever asked him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, capped by a win in front of a sold-out crowd at Boise State with the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West tournament on the line. Clifford scored 36 points on only 18 shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat might go down as the best regular-season performance ever at CSU,\u201d Medved said.<\/p>\n

Clifford was just as good in the conference tournament, averaging 25 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists to help the Rams secure an NCAA Tournament bid. Then, CSU upset sixth-seeded Memphis in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. A buzzer-beater by Maryland\u2019s Derik Queen stopped the Rams from being the only mid-major to make the Sweet 16. In Clifford\u2019s final college game, he put up another stellar line: 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.<\/p>\n

Clifford was one of the most valuable players in the country, finishing sixth in KenPom\u2019s Player of the Year standings. He enters this NBA Draft with no doubt that he can make an impact in the pros.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the thing that gets lost in this, not just to make it at the next level, but to have an opportunity to stay at the next level,\u201d Medved said. \u201cSo much of it is mental and emotional. \u2026 Can you handle the drive? Do you really believe? You almost have to have an irrational confidence in yourself that you can succeed at the highest level. And that\u2019s really hard sometimes for people to be honest with themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was a big part of it for Nique. It was so new to him. He\u2019d come out on the scene, and he needed another year. And, man, this year you just saw what he did for us. Obviously, his play on the court, but also his leadership, just how much more confident and comfortable he was with his game and himself. And that\u2019s why he\u2019s in the position he\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The latest mock draft from The Athletic\u2019s Sam Vecenie projects Nique Clifford to go No. 22 to the Atlanta Hawks. (Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Will there be another Clifford?<\/p>\n

Nine players from the Mountain West who earned all-Mountain West or honorable mention honors this spring will be back in college basketball next season. Only three (Utah State\u2019s Mason Falslev, San Diego State\u2019s Miles Byrd and Magoon Gwath) remained with their 2024-25 school. The other six transferred to high-major programs.<\/p>\n

From outside the high-major leagues, only two players attended the NBA Draft combine and returned to school: Byrd and UAB product Yaxel Lendeborg, who transferred to Michigan. It\u2019s rare now for an all-league player outside of college hoops\u2019 top five leagues to stay put. San Diego State, which made the national title game three years ago, is more high-major-ish, but even the Aztecs have felt the shift. Three members of the SDSU core that made the 2023 national title game finished their careers elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super rare (to stay). I felt it this spring,\u201d said Farokhmanesh, who lost point guard Kyan Evans to North Carolina in April. \u201cIt\u2019s also really rare to make the NBA, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clifford has no regrets, even about his three years at Colorado.<\/p>\n

He also has a message for those players who will one day be in his shoes and have the chance to transfer up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the feedback is they want you to go to a bigger school and play better competition, maybe I can see why you would transfer and go up to a big school,\u201d Clifford said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re already in a great situation and could risk your stock by going somewhere else just for some money, I would definitely not recommend that. I would definitely stay a part of the culture that you helped build and have a sense of loyalty to that college of the people that helped you get to where you were at. You know you\u2019re gonna grow and you\u2019re going to get better with those people, because they\u2019ve helped you get to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

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