A More Confident Cliffford Enters the Fray

The next six weeks will be grueling, which Nique Clifford realizes all too well now.

The first week will be the easiest in some regards. He'll be at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, one of the top 75 players identified by NBA officials to put their best on display. It's a week where Clifford will be grounded, all in one place, doing much the same from day to day. What follows is when the chaos begins.

The constant travel, city to city. Sleep when you can, eat as best as you can as he will be in an airplane or at an airport as much or more than he'll be on solid ground, in and out of hotels. One team to the next, one workout to the next.

This time around, Clifford knows what he didn't know a year ago when he went through it the first time.

"I know how to better prepare myself for better situations and scenarios. I feel like I'm in a great position now," Clifford said. "I feel like this time around because I know exactly what to expect, I'm able to handle whatever's thrown at me.

"Learning last year going through the combine, it's a unique environment. You're with the top 75 or whatever players across the country – across the world, honestly – who are going through the same thing you're trying to do. You're in front of every decision maker, every GM, every coach in the NBA. Like I said, it's a unique environment and it's a nerve-wracking environment when you're a part of it for the first time. Being able to go through it last year, I feel I'm in a better spot where I really have no nerves going in. I know what to expect. I know at the end of the day these top people in the NBA are humans so I can just go be myself and not put any added pressure on myself. I know exactly what to expect at the combine, the shooting drills, the play, the interviews, I know exactly what all that looks like, so I think this year I very much prepared going into that."

So, before he starts living out of hotel rooms, he spent Friday in a comfortable place, working with a man who has aided his progress – CSU coach Ali Farokhmanesh – at Moby Arena. No madness this time, just calm.

Just some controlled drill work to produce a good sweat before he flies to the Windy City on Sunday. Aspects of his game the coach dictated, others the player wanted to polish.

"Now I have a better feel for is coming for him and what he needs to work on. He wants to shoot," Farokhmanesh said before they began. "I'm not going to crush him on anything, not like a full off-season workout. This is a preparation workout.

"I think he's more than ready. I think he's prepared more than anything else. When you feel you're prepared for the moments, it doesn't seem as daunting and you're not as anxious or nervous about it. It's still a lot. You're working in front of the NBA, and your dream is right in front of you, but you're prepared, and you know what you have done, and you know what you have to do to get here, so there should be no nerves about that."

They throw on a little mood music, a Spotify playlist of classic 90s R&B and hip-hop. About 10 minutes in, Salt-N-Pepa pops through the portable speaker – 'Whatta Man'.

Fitting, because that's just what Clifford is out to prove.

His past season as already spoken volumes for him. He showed he was a three-level scorer, versatile defender and a playmaker. He was first-team All-Mountain West and a member of the league's all-defensive team, as well as an AP All-American honorable mention.

He averaged 18.9 points per game, his 681 total setting CSU's single-season record. He was the shortest player in Division I to average better than 9.5 rebounds per game (9.6 on the dot), producing 160 assists in 36 games.

Clifford went through the process a season ago as a fringe NBA prospect. He waited up until the final day to declare his intention to return to the Rams, doing so with a checklist of wants from NBA evaluators.

He didn't rest. Farokhmanesh recently listened to some draft evaluator's impressions of Clifford's game, speaking in detail about his feet and follow-through on his shots being tighter, as well as his motion after the shot. He could only smile, because – check, check, check – all things they spent the offseason improving.

And they worked on it some more on Friday. The ball-handling drills came first. Then the shooting. Finishing at the rim with both hands. Finishing in the lane, both hands. Doing so with contact. Then slowly pushing out his range.

When Clifford boards the plane Sunday, he will do so as a better player. That's not the most important part, however.

"This year going into the combine I'm a lot more confident. I feel like I'm going to walk in there with high shoulders, have my chest out and just feel confident going in," he said. "I want to showcase my shooting ability; I want to showcase that I'm one of the top players in the draft. That's what my mindset is, and that's what I feel I'm going to go in there and do, be myself.

"The draft process is a grueling process. It's a lot of travel. It's a lot of working out and teams testing you, your mental. They're trying to break you and see how you're going to respond under those pressure environments. This time around I know how to take care of my body better, how to stay hydrated, just to keep my mental protected through the whole process. You're going to have good workouts, you're going to have bad workouts, but it's just staying levelheaded, staying confident in yourself and showing the teams who you are, not just as a basketball player but as a person. I feel really confident going into it. I keep going back to being more prepared."

Farokhmanesh knows his player is prepared for what awaits. He can just sense the confidence from Clifford. They both know what awaits is important – him chasing a dream and trying to impress the people who can make it his reality. And in some ways, it's a first-impression, at least since they last saw him play.

Clifford's final stretch was impressive. He showed the ability to take over a game in a key road win against Boise State, dropping points on the Broncos on 13-of-18 shooting. He averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his two NCAA Tournament games, his final play an assist to Jalen Lake on a 3-pointer which had the Rams briefly dreaming about the Sweet 16.

Two scenarios, two separate reactions, each which Clifford hopes shows his true motivation.

"The Boise game and the last play of the season, making the pass to Lake, I think that shows teams my versatility. I think it shows my willingness to win," Clifford said. "That's what I care about the most, winning at the end of the day. The play design for that last shot was for me to go make a play, and I want to win, so the best play I felt like was to kick it out to Lake. I have a lot trust in him, I have a lot of trust in all my teammates to take those shots. It was a great play, and we're right there to win the game because of it. I feel like it shows my unselfishness and willingness to win.

"The Boise game, tapping into that mode of doing anything at all costs to win – and I knew how much that game meant – so I think it shows my competitive spirit and my willingness to win."

For the next six weeks, he'll have a chance to show it all again. To talk about who he is and what motivates a player projected to go in the first round, anywhere between picks 15-20. He was more than willing to do it all last year. This time, he's better prepared to do it all over again.

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