The fate of the season was entrusted into the hands of Nique Clifford.
If night one was any indication, Clifford has every intention of taking real good care of things. In Colorado State men’s basketball 82-56 rout of North Dakota, Clifford showed his versatility.
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Already notching his first double-double of the season, Clifford finished with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added 14 rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal, kicking his season off in brilliant fashion.
“It was so fun to get back out there, just with a whole new group of guys, just for our fans to see all the new players,” Clifford said. “It was a lot of fun. You don’t really know how good you are until you actually step on the floor against another opponent.”
Although CSU didn’t have many areas for improvement, two stood out: shooting beyond the arc and at the charity stripe.
The Rams went 4-of-17 from 3 and 8-of-19 at the line, shooting 23.5% and 42.1% respectively. A positive, however, is that a lot of the 3s that CSU did get were open looks and taken by good shooters. Both things are likely to work themselves out as the season progresses.
“I would’ve liked to see us make some more free throws tonight — that would have made me happy,” coach Niko Medved said. “I thought all 17 3s we had were phenomenal looks, just couldn’t get them to go down, and I believe we will as long as we’re taking great shots. (That’s) all that matters to me.”
Isaiah Stevens had long been the heliocentric driving force behind the Rams’ offense. Now, with a team that Medved said might be the deepest one he’s coached, guys had to step up and complement each other. Although there might have been some growing pains on night one, the complementary style of ball that CSU wants to play was alive and well.
Northern Illinois transfer guard Keshawn Williams didn’t seem like he needed much time to adjust in his first on-court action since Dec. 5, 2023. After playing just 14 minutes all of last season, due to injuries, Williams made sure his first time back on the hardwood would be a memorable one.
“It was exciting,” Williams said. “I haven’t played a game in like 600-plus days, so it was a little bit of nerves, excitement, I felt pretty much everything tonight. But coach, he expressed his belief in me, so I was able to go out there and just have fun.”
Williams finished with 14 points off the bench, and capped off his night flying high and jamming down an alley-oop feed from Kyan Evans.
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Williams has everything it takes to become a fan favorite. He had the dunk and a near no-look dime, exuding contagious energy each time he touches the floor.
“Fans can see he’s athletic and he can score the ball,” Medved said. “I’m just really happy for him. He’s just such a great kid and made some great plays tonight and that dunk tonight at the end — I know that felt great for him and hopefully that’s something that can springboard him because we’ve got some firepower coming off the bench.”
Evans’ feed came off of one of his five steals. Evans largely struggled backing up Stevens in his first year, but has clearly put in the work this offseason to come back much improved.
The difference in his confidence is night-and-day. He might replace Stevens in the rotation, but their games are different. Evans is a defensive pest and shifty guard who can excel in the drive-and-kick game, something this version of the team needs dearly.
“I think he’s been really good defensively here,” Medved said. “I think he’s bringing an edge to him and I think that’s been great to see.”
Part of Medved’s arsenal of firepower off the bench is true freshman Kyle Jorgensen.
Jorgensen was the only true freshman to see any real minutes in the Rams’ first game in Moby Arena. While a first-year in name, Jorgensen has already impressed and, according to Medved, could be a star in the making.
“Certain guys come in — a freshman or whatever — and they just kind of have the ‘it’ factor,” Medved said. “You never know until you get them. And I loved his talent, but we had a couple of other young guys that came in here a few years back, and you probably know who I’m talking about that played as freshmen.”
Strong praise from his coach. He finished his night with nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, adding seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Jorgensen certainly showed flashes of that greatness in his debut.
“You could just see the game kind of slows down for them in a way early on that you can’t teach,” Medved said. “He has that. He’s got great instincts and feel and he’s got a chance to be a special player, I really believe that. … He’s been really good since day one, since we’ve got him in practice and I think he’s going to be a big part of our team now and he’s got a really bright future.”
The opening spectacle of Moby Madness was a night which beheld many promises. This squad has spent such little time together, leaving a beam of hope as to what this team can become. Especially if Clifford plays at the level he did Monday night.
“We’re just only going to continue to grow and get better,” Clifford said. “We’ve only been together for five, six months. So just the fact that we were able to do that, just shows our potential and how good we can really be.”
Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.
