How Sacramento Kings Rookie Nique Clifford Developed from Role Player to Star at Colorado State

How Sacramento Kings Rookie Nique Clifford Developed from Role Player to Star at Colorado State

we’ve seen the highlight reels and mixtapz we’ve read what the draft experts have to say but what about hearing someone with their feet on the ground who has worked with Nick Clifford on a daily basis on today’s Locked on Kings podcast very excited to be joined by head coach of the Colorado State Rams Ali Faroke Manesh he joins me to talk about Nick’s journey to the NBA how he improved and blossomed into an NBA first round pick at Colorado State it’s all right here on Locked on Kings you are Locked on Kings your daily Sacramento Kings podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day and now ladies and gentlemen it is that time time for another episode of Locked on Kings hello and welcome into Locked on Kings your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all offseason long today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase my name is Matt George i have the privilege of being your host here i’m a Sacramento sports anchor and reporter for ABC 10 News and one of the things I love about postNBA draft is the opportunity to reach out and to talk to college coaches who are more than willing and more than excited to come on and whether it’s podcasts or on television or radio and just hype up their guys right you’re going to hear all over Sacramento sports radio television podcasts whatever you’re going to hear a lot of different conversations with different college coaches of these Sacramento Kings draft picks and draft prospects uh that they acquired over the last couple of days and I’m really excited because you you get some real genuine insight on who the player is on a daily basis right we’re going to get to know Nick Clifford on a daily basis right we’re going to be watching him closer as fans and as media members here in Sacramento than anybody else around the league maybe other than diehard Colorado State fans right so we want to know what he’s like on the daily what he’s like in the practice facility what he’s like every time he takes the floor that’s why I’m really excited uh to speak with coach Faro Mesh uh he a little context was not the head coach at Colorado State while Nick Clifford was there however he was the associate head coach and one of the lead developmental coaches for Nick so he worked very closely uh with Nick and helped him develop over his two years at Colorado State and if you go and look at the numbers of his first three years at Colorado and then how he just exploded in his final two years of his college career both at Colorado State you’ll see how big of an improvement he made and to have one of his developmental coaches one of the guys and and and coach Farupesh is gonna share with us specifically what they worked on and and how he put his head down and and and and embrace the things that Colorado State needed from him to turn into this fantastic player and NBA caliber player coach provides a lot of really really really good and interesting context so I’m excited for you to listen to this interview i of course will have uh other um uh interviews with other coaches i’m working on getting Stanford’s head coach and talking about the King’s second round pick and I’m still working on and I I know I’ve I’ve Americanized the pronunciation of his very French name Maxim Reno I think is how you say it i’ve been adding the D to it the D is silent i’m working on the pronunciation thank you to all you in the comment section we’re making sure I say it right maxim Renault i’m working on getting uh his his head coach from Stamford here on Lockdown Kings hopefully we’ll be able to do that early next week it’s a pleasure to be joined by the head coach of the Colorado State men’s basketball team Coach Alli Faro Mesh joining me here to talk about the journey of Nick Clifford through Colorado State to the NBA and now the Sacramento Kings and coach before we get to like specifically what the Kings are getting in Nique I I I just would like to ask you because you were the associate head coach and and one of the lead developmental coaches for Nick and his time over the the couple years that he spent at Colorado State but he arrived there three years in technically to his his college career what was what did you notice I guess when you day one when you got your hands on him when he first walked onto the building to the final day when he walked off campus and and declared for the draft and now became a Sacramento king what did you notice were the the biggest differences in his game and and just his overall growth as a basketball player yeah I mean he it’s when Nick walks into the gym he looks like an NBA player from day one like and that’s been that’s been the same since high school because we recruited him out of high school as well he just said no the first time around um but you could tell right away like that’s that’s what NBA players look like um so right away we knew he knew he had a chance right you have to have some level of athleticism you have to have some level of length um it’s just it is what it is right but when he got to campus I’ll be honest we didn’t think he was going to start for us in year one um and then he put in a ton of work his jump shot was not where it needed to be yet um his ability to play off two feet was not where it needed to be yet so that was the two things that we wanted to work on right away was getting the jump shot more fluid his feet weren’t strong so we we literally set out on an intentional work in terms of what two things we’re going to work on that first year was his jump shot and his feet specifically and then his one motion that changed he bought into it and it it changed his shot he shot 38% I believe and made the double the amount of threes he made his entire career at that point from Colorado than the two feet and I think that was one of the biggest things he was strong and athletic so at times he could just go up to the rim and jump over people and do crazy finishes which is great and it looks good on a highlight but then when you go one for six on those the highlight shows up but the consistency and the percentages show different and so we got convinced him to hey we got to play off two feet more more controlled when we get to the rim um and then also telling him like there’s no more finesse finishing like we’re finishing through everybody and I think that showed up that last year it showed up he had 28 dunks on the season which I think he only had 10 uh previously the year before at Colorado and then this past year he had about six dunks on top of people and so I think that mentality changed as well so it was it was a developmental thing but it’s also mentality change and I think you’ll Kings fans will see he’s got a tattoo of the Joker on his forearm um and we always talked about like he’s the nicest person off the court the most humble i would let him watch my kids um you ever you’re gonna love Nick in that sense but the one thing holding him back was that he was not a killer on the court so we built up this mantra as well of like you’re the Joker once you step between those lines and I still remember one of our video guys Joe Desimon we made a video together of him with Joker the from the Batman movie Joker coats with him and highlights of him and whatnot and made this thing about mask on and so now when you watch him walk out for the starting lineups he always puts his mask on first
um and that kind of changed his mentality he was he transformed into the Joker you can be this nice person great human being off the court but between those lines like there’s only killers out there and so you got to change into something else
well he’ll get along great with Demard Rosen who also has a Joker tattoo I believe on his uh on his arm so that that’s I’m sure they’ll have plenty to talk about with that but I’ve heard like a term that I’ve heard describe Nick is is a sponge right and I think it sounds like you’re you’re kind of reiterating that with how much he retains uh information but I mean one of the I think one of the pluses of being a super senior having five years of college is this i mean he he comes into the NBA with a more NBA ready body with a more NBA ready uh mindset less of I mean not a 19 20 year old that needs to develop and and grow into the NBA game but someone who still needs to learn the NBA game but can be more impactful right away how quickly do you feel that he will be able to adapt to whatever the NBA game throws at him and specifically whatever the Kings head coach Doug Christie want from him yeah I think that’s maturity um there’s no entitlement when it comes to Nick uh but the level of maturity when you get a 22 23 year old coming into the NBA that’s been through some struggles too like I think that’s a big piece of it is you’re not getting an entitled kid that thinks he’s this world beater like he knows like this is another step like making the NBA is the that’s the dream but like the goal is to stay in the NBA now and so I think him understanding that as well like he’s not coming in thinking he’s a finished product either he might be 23 but there’s still so much room for growth and that’s what excites me with Nick is like he’s going to go in there and like I’m going to text him today that he needs to get with Demar Rose and ASAP because that’s one of the hardest workers in the league like there’s documentaries about his work ethic um but he’ll fit into that culture too because that’s the culture that we’ve built and tried to build over time at Colorado State is that man the the extra work is what separates you and so the level how how you carry yourself in your workouts how you we you’re always jogging always talking like you’re showing up early you’re warmed up before your actual workout starts you’re already warmed up and doing your own workout so that when you work out with the coach like it’s go time and I think that maturity level that level of professionalism that’s going to carry over to the NBA and I only think it’s going to get better too cuz now he’s with other people that not to say that we didn’t have guys that thought that way i’d say most of our team actually does think that way which is special but now you’re working with 10 other guys 15 other dudes that they have the same mentality that you have and I think that’s only going to help him grow that much faster too because just what you said Matt like he’s he is a sponge like that is one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever been around and to come into Colorado State and average five points a game at Colorado on a team that was 80th 90th in the country it wasn’t it wasn’t like they were great when he left to now we’re telling you you got to change your shot we got to work on this we got to do all these things to get you better a lot of kids don’t always buy into that either they they have an own their own idea of how they need to develop and whatnot and you tell a kid that we’re working on two things for the next spring and summer and that’s it like that’s boring but that’s the only way I know you can truly grow is with that intentionality and um man it worked out it worked out to the fullest i I think that’s the best he’s the best proof of that to me is that our development program works and how we go about our development is exactly the way I want to continue to do it and that’s why Nick is where he is is because that intentionality but also what you said that being the sponge and bought in to that work
this episode of the Lockdown Kings podcast is brought to you by Skiims when I found out that Skiims was making underwear for men I was intrigued cuz I’ve heard so much about their quality from friends and family and I knew I had to give it a try and let me tell you it lives up to the hype right i’ve personally and I’m getting a little personal here I’ve always had issues with underwear whether it was fit comfort even finding the right style yes style is important of course for underwear skims changed all that their men’s line offers something for everybody no matter what you’re looking for from boxer briefs to classic briefs all designed with the perfect balance of comfort and style i really like the the stretch five boxer briefs they’re comfortable and they allow you to or they they I should say they’re they’re versatile right we’re talking about versatility a lot with Nique Clifford the versatility of these boxer briefs are fantastic because whether I’m just sitting at my desk working it’s comfortable for that and especially during the summertime if I’m out being active chasing my kid around the park going out for a round of golf they’re comfortable and keep me cool and everything uh during the summertime months too which of course is very important guys you know what I’m talking about shopki men’s skims.com and then make sure you let them know that we sent you after you place your order select podcast in the survey and select locked on Kings in the drop-own menu that follows i don’t even think Nick realizes how significant of a pick that he is one because the the Kings traded up into the first round to go and and get him and I asked him about that on on draft night looking forward to chatting with him more about that but he was the first player personnel move of new Kings general manager Scott Perry so there’s a I think an extra level of of of special to that that Scott wanted to put his first stamp on this era of Sacramento Kings basketball by going and and and bringing um by bringing Nick in in terms of or well I should say and one of the things that Scott Perry’s talked a lot about and immediately pointed out with Nick in in his press conference was versatility and a two-way player right someone that’s going to give you something on both ends that can do more than one thing is more than onedimensional when you hear those two terms and and yourself apply those terms to Nick do you agree with that assessment of Scott Perry and how important do you think those two traits are to Nick’s game and Nick’s development going forward
absolutely i think that the cool thing with Nick too is there’s not a lot of players in the NBA that get drafted in the first round that have to go through the things he went through as a player i mean this is a kid that never played a minute his freshman year basically at Colorado sparingly his sophomore year becomes kind of an off andon starter his junior year there then comes here now he’s now he’s Robin in his first year here with Isaiah Stevens and the next year he’s the guy so he’s played every role that you can play in college in basketball and I think that’s when you’re going to the NBA you want people that can be able to handle those different roles because it’s going to fluctuate game to game season to season month to month um and I think that’s what makes him special is he be able to handle those different roles PS whatever is asked of him and he doesn’t have the entitlement to not say well I’m better than that role like what what role does Doug Christie want him to play like I’m going to go dominate that role then um I think that’s what makes him special in terms of why he’s going to have success in the league is that entitlement is not there um but then the versatility I mean that’s it it it really was incredible watching him sometimes this year in terms of I mean we’re we would I remember some games we’d look up like man he did not play well and you look up you’re like dang 2410 and seven well I guess he played okay then um and so I think that’s what’s hard with him is like he does so many things so well consistently over in a course of a game that sometimes you don’t even notice it because it just becomes that he’s just making the right play over and over again it’s not always these loud moments of just dunks on people or three threes back to back to back it’s just man three here block shot there rebound there like quick outlet to the next guy like rebound make the right decision on a on a on an offensive rebound um it’s not always these loud plays but then you look at the stat sheet you look at his plus and minus he just affects the game in so many different ways that it’s it’s a coach’s dream to be honest and sometimes you look at the stat sheet after the game and you’re like wow like he 24/7 and seven like that’s that’s that’s different so um the versatility piece that’s absolutely key and I think uh Scott Perry’s spot on with that there’s he he affects the games in more ways than just one what about pos positional versatility though and I know basketball is going to more of positionless basketball and being able to do a lot of things which I mean definition of versatility but his ability to at times run the offense handle the basketball take over those responsibilities the Kings are in kind of a transitional period with the their point guard position and I know it sounds like Neique more of a 23 in terms of the size and measurements in the game but just his ability whether it’s in spot minutes or specific lineups uh to to control and and to handle the basketball is he comfortable in in that position as well as of course playing off the ball
yeah that’s what’s I think that’s what makes him special too is that exactly what you said i think that’s it’s funny to me cuz like the year before when he went through the process a little bit he before he gets to Colorado State right he’s only looked as a defensive guy basically because he’s not shooting the ball well his turnovers are high so then that next year he’s looked at as a three and D guy now so now he’s out of the three ball plus D after one year with us then he comes back for the following season and now I got and now I have people calling me saying like well he’s like kind of like a secondary point guard in some ways do you think about that transition in 20 months from a guy that is strictly a defensive guy to all of a sudden he’s a 3 and D guy to all of a sudden now he’s a secondary point guard type
um and I think that’s what’s special about him is that he can he can play the point he can make plays for others he enjoys that more than anything else i think that’s where he finds joy he doesn’t not just the scoring like he wants to make plays for other people and he’s always viewed himself like that even out of high school to be honest we recruit him as a point guard so for him to finally see the fruits of that labor and now people are talking about him being a secondary point guard type that also can guard and rebound um there’s not a lot of guys like that and I think that’s what that’s what makes him unique the defense is very exciting too coach I don’t know how familiar you are with Sacramento Kings basketball but over the years the defense has been one of the inconsistencies of this organization especially on the perimeter so how would you assess i mean you just talked about at Colorado he was basically known as a defensive guy but somebody who has the intangibles and the willingness on the defensive end to to do the dirty work and to do the hard things to to be able to lock down that perimeter defensively yeah and I think that goes back to him playing so many different roles over his college careers there’s there’s no there’s no role that’s too big for him he does not have a level of entitlement that some people have when they come into the league and say “Well I did this in college or I did that in high school.” Well this ain’t college this ain’t high school anymore this is a different level now so for him he understands that and he’s the type of player that like he’s not going to look back on his career and be like “Well I was doing this at Colorado State.” Well you’re not at Colorado State anymore you’re you’re the Sacramento king now so whatever they need you to do in that moment or that season go be the best in that position and then whenever you do that and you’re a star in your role you get more opportunities to do other things and I think that’s that’s been instilled in our program and I think that’s why guys have had success going on and going forward is he’s going to have that same mentality that he had here is be a star in a role and then you get a bigger role
like I said at the top of the show this episode of Locked on Kings is brought to you by Game Time have you ever decided at the very last minute to head to a ball game with friends and family i know I do it a lot maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize I want to be in the stands or maybe you thought oh it’d be it’d be fun to go to a game but we don’t know like schedules get tight are we going to be free are we not oh we’re in we’re free all right let’s try and get tickets that’s exactly where game time comes in clutch it’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress when the money or rather with the money that you save on tickets you can splurge on food drinks merch or even invite a bigger group to come with you game time makes it possible look as you very well know entertainment life it’s getting more and more and more expensive i know a lot of families sometimes struggle to be able to get enough tickets to take their family out to the ball game it ends up becoming a very very expensive trip game time will save you more money than you will find anywhere else they have their game time guarantee that ensures that and makes buying tickets fast and simple prices on the app actually drop significantly the closer you get to first pitch so maybe it’s a 1:00 first pitch and you still don’t have tickets at 11:00 a.m you’re going to find a great deal trust me on game time take the guess work out of buying tickets with game time download the Game Time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code locked on NBA for $20 off download the Game Time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed couple more for you coach the NBA draft process is so strange in terms of you have NBA draft experts and talking heads like myself labeling these kids putting player comps on these kids to try and make it as understandable as possible for the the general NBA audience but there’s always things that slip through the cra cracks or things that we miss because we’re not on the on the court with them or or with them every single day what is it are there anything is there anything specific whether it’s about Nick as a basketball player Nick as a person that you think shines through or is very important that maybe wasn’t picked up in the draft process you didn’t hear talked about enough you didn’t hear um I guess attached to Nick as a basketball player through this process yeah because I think it’s pretty well known now that um the development piece for him like seeing his progress i think that’s pretty everyone kind of talks about that like you go you can go watch film at Colorado and be like that looks like a completely different human being
but I think that’s pretty well documented at this point i think the one thing and I told scouts this during the process that um I think what makes him special is that so he’s it was it was the year his first year here right he had just left Colorado one of his best friends two of his best friends Jabari Walker Tristan Dilva right from Colorado they’re now in the NBA so Tristan Dilva has senior night we’re off we’re not playing i think we had two or three days off now Colorado State and Colorado do not like each other so this kid transfers from Colorado to Colorado State like that’s not going to be a warm welcome when you go to Colorado again so he goes back we have off night he goes back for senior night for Tristan Dilva at Colorado and is in the crowd for his senior night i don’t know too many players that would do that not only because you’re going back to Colorado hostile environment you don’t know how you’re going to receive we had just beat them at home that year too so like there’s a little animosity as well um and he had a good game too but he goes back cuz that’s the type of teammate he is and I think that’s what people don’t you you’re not going to know that unless you’re with him every day the type of teammate he is that’s
that’s different and I don’t think there’s not a lot of guys that are like that like he does not care what happens in the game as long as it’s a win it’s that’s the only thing that matters to him and I think that’s what separates him is those little those little things that people don’t see on the basketball court the type of person he is the type of teammate that he is um that’s what makes him special and I think that’s what Kings fans and that community is going to see when they gets there is that he’s going to be embraced by the community because of who he is well finally coach you’re starting your era of of Colorado State basketball as the top man and of course congratulations to you on that and I know you’re going to be locked into that and trying to make sure Colorado State hoops are in the best place possible but how much will you be paying attention how much will Colorado State be paying attention to Nick’s career can we can we count on some new Kings fans in Colorado State i know it’s the green compared to the purple but can we uh can we count on some some Kings fans coming from Colorado State paying attention to Nick 100% i played in Northern Iowa so I can get back in the purple pretty easily here um and that No that’s that’s an easy one obviously I was back in the day with Mike Bby and them like that was one of my favorite teams growing up so it’s easy for me to throw on a Kings jersey i’m just waiting for whatever number he picks but I guarantee you go to Colorado Springs next year and you’re in for Collins you’re going to see a lot of purple jerseys walking around those arenas so that’s that’s going to be easy for for Rams fans for Colorado fans for people from col from Colorado it might might hurt the Nuggets fan base for a little bit but um we’ll work with it shout out to coach Farokmanesh for for taking the time here he’s appeared on a lot of different Sacramento Kings related uh shows and and content over the last 24 to to 48 hours very generous with his time provided I thought a really a lot of really interesting context we learned a lot about who Nick is and and the work that he’s willing to put in and that’s important for the 24th pick in the draft right he’s going to come in and and he’s going to have to earn his spot in the rotation but as we heard from coach there he’s more than willing to embrace the little things even if it’s just one or two things that he has to hyperfocus on he will do it and he will he’s shown the improvement from when he sets his mind to something that gets me excited for what he can do when Doug Christie and his coaching staff get his hands uh on on Nick and are able to mold him and start to work with him here in summer league and training camp speaking of summer league the Kings Las Vegas summer league schedule is out yes I know they’re still not in the Cali Classic which is depressing but their four guaranteed summer league games in Las Vegas are on uh July 10th they’ll take on the Orlando Magic on July 12th they’ll take on the Chicago Bulls on July 14th they’ll take on the Phoenix Suns and on July 16th they’ll take on the Cavaliers and then if they and then they’ll have of course the the the playoff games uh and everything beyond that so looking forward to Las Vegas Summer League don’t know if I’m going to be going or not regardless I’m going to be locked in very interested in seeing what these new Kings players the these rookies look like it’s nice to be excited about something again with the Kings of course we got so much more coming like I said u other conversations that I’m trying to get with some of these prospects coaches trying to get another draft analyst here on Locked on Kings to break down the Kings draft as a whole scott Perry is getting a lot of glowing reviews around the NBA draft expert circles right now which is really really cool uh and then of course more on like the Malik Monk trade situation dennis Shruder I talked a lot about that on yesterday’s Locked on Kings podcast if you missed that and free agency is right around the corner so there is a lot a lot going on here in Kingsland and business is just getting started so I appreciate you uh staying locked into the Sacramento Kings here on the Locked On Kings podcast my name is Matt George you’ve been listening to Locked on Kings part of the Locked On Network

Matt George is joined by Colorado State men’s basketball coach Ali Farokhmanesh, who shares details about Nique Clifford’s development into an NBA first round draft pick.

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