SEATTLE — Nique Clifford’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament was about as unique as it gets.

He sat on the sidelines for nearly the entirety of No. 5 seed Colorado’s 96-73 blowout win over No. 12 seed Georgetown inside a mostly empty Hinkle Fieldhouse at the 2021 tournament that was contained inside the state of Indiana.

But Clifford got to play two minutes at the end of that win for the Buffaloes and even hit a 3-pointer.

“It was the coolest thing ever,” Clifford recalled to The Denver Gazette on Thursday.

Oh, how things have changed for the Colorado Springs native.

He’s a different person, a different player and on a different team. As Clifford heads into his third and final March Madness appearance on Friday, leading No. 12 seed Colorado State against No. 5 seed Memphis (Noon, TBS), it’s hard for him to not reminisce about it all.

“I’m just taking a step back and being grateful for being able to be in these positions, just to see my journey and where I came from,” Clifford said. “I’m really leading a team into March Madness. It’s just crazy how times have changed and the path I’ve taken up to this point. Just super grateful. I love to pray about it and give thanks to God for putting me through these trials and tribulations.”

As many have heard by now, Clifford’s college career wasn’t the smoothest. After a solid sophomore season in Boulder, Clifford regressed in terms of both role and production as a junior, all while CU signed a five-star player at his position in Cody Williams.

But he found a home just up the road in Fort Collins, quickly becoming the perfect second fiddle to Rams star point guard Isaiah Stevens last season and helping his new team get back to the NCAA Tournament.

This year, after nearly not returning to school and getting started on a pro career, Clifford predicted how this season would go.

“I think there’s a lot of potential with this group,” Clifford said back in November. “We’re not gonna be right where we want from game one, but as we go forward through the season, teams continue to get better and that’s the path we want to be on.”

Spot on.

Clifford also knew that if he was going to achieve his goal of leading CSU back to the big dance, he needed to up his game in more ways than one.

Nailed it again.

Clifford is the only player in the country averaging 19 points per game and over nine rebounds and four assists per game. He’s evolved into one of the nation’s most dangerous playmakers behind a mindset of a player who truly understands how he can best make an impact on a given game.

“I think it’s just feeling it. When maybe a couple of threes aren’t falling, you gotta recognize that and get downhill, get to the free throw line and do something else to get myself going,” Clifford said back in January. “It’s hard, as a confident player, you think the next shot is going on, but I think it’s (about) not forcing the issue.

“I have to be aggressive for my team to be successful — whether that’s getting downhill and making a play for somebody else, whether that’s scoring — and I think it comes back to that feel of the game.”

All of that was on display last week in Las Vegas as Clifford averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds per game on the way to leading the Rams to their first Mountain West tournament championship in 22 years.

Clifford is a popular pick to be one of the stars of this year’s NCAA Tournament. He knows exactly what that looks like as CSU associate head coach Ali Farokhmanesh is still remembered for his performance in leading No. 9 seed Northern Iowa over top overall seed Kansas back in 2010.

Farokhmanesh knows Clifford is as ready as anyone to join him as a March Madness legend.

“He’s gotta show up every night. That’s a lot of pressure, but he’s done it for a high level for the last two months now,” Farokhmanesh told The Denver Gazette. “It’s just (about) sticking to the process of what he’s been doing the whole time and trusting his work and trusting his teammates. He’s getting a lot done without making it look like he’s stressing himself out trying to do it.

“He doesn’t force anything. That’s the biggest thing that’s changed in the last two months. He takes what’s given to him, but he’s aggressive when he takes it.”

The level Clifford has reached in recent months is something his teammate, fifth-year senior Ethan Morton, has seen before. He played alongside two-time Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey at Purdue.

“He’s been super impressive,” Morton said. “I’ve been around some great players, played against some great guys and he’s right in that group. The best compliment I can give him is when you watch him, he just moves differently from everybody else out there. He makes the right play. He does everything you could ask for. At the end of the day, too, he’s a winner. A lot of guys you could say have great pro potential, but he’s just such a winner. He does whatever it takes.”

Clifford will happily take the “winner” description. Because he knows continuing to prove he’s exactly that this weekend in Seattle (and maybe beyond) is how he becomes a March legend in his own right.

“It’s always cool to get recognition and have people believing in you to do those types of things,” Clifford said. “It puts a level of pressure on you, but I don’t think I get into that. I have a good mindset and I’m just focused on trying to help my team win games. When I do that, I feel like I play at my best and when I play at my best, those things could happen. I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, just focusing on getting better and helping my team win. I think those things will take care of itself.”