A little more than a month ago, I ran into the parents of Nique Clifford at Denver International Airport.

It wasn’t the first time.

Every season, it never fails there are one or two sets of team parents that happen to share an inordinate amount of flights with you. The Cliffords, Akai and Angel, were a pair of those parents when Nique played for the Buffaloes.

This time, of course, we weren’t on the same flight. The Cliffords were making their way to Utah State, where their son dropped 24 points and 16 rebounds that night while going 9-for-9 at the free-throw line (make note of that latter stat for later in this column). I was headed to Lawrence, Kan.

We shared a quick laugh missing the comparative ease of traveling in the Pac-12. Then Akai noted they didn’t have many road trips left, with Nique nearing the end of his final college season.

I told Akai he might have to deal with NBA traveling next year. I said it with a laugh, but I wasn’t joking.

Nique Clifford has fulfilled all the lofty promise he brought to the Colorado Buffaloes nearly five years ago as a late-blooming recruit out of Colorado Springs. That he has fulfilled that potential with the Colorado State Rams, and not in Boulder, will go down as one of several prominent “What ifs?” of the Tad Boyle era.

That’s not at all a criticism of Nique’s decision. It has worked out perfectly for the dynamic 6-foot-6 wing, who likely will join local basketball luminaries like Tom Chambers, Chauncey Billups and Derrick White as Colorado-born players landing in the NBA Draft.

Yet through the 10 seasons I’ve covered CU men’s basketball, no departing player has created such a head-scratcher as to why things didn’t work out.

“I’m really proud of Nique,” Boyle said earlier this week. “He’s having the career and the year that we thought he could have when he recruited him out of Colorado Springs.

“Here he is two years later, and he’s going to be an NBA player next year. I don’t know how all that’s going to shake out, but he’s had a heck of a career. It reaffirms to me, it’s a process. It took Nique Clifford five years to have this year. It doesn’t happen one year, or after two years. Or sometimes even after three years. Maybe he needed a fresh start. I respect that. I’m happy for him. He’s a wonderful person. Wonderful family. And I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Boyle noted he recently put up Clifford’s stats from his final season at CU, unattributed, on the board in his office, telling the Buffs’ youngsters the player who put up those stats was now a legitimate NBA prospect. Those numbers, to put it plainly, weren’t good.

Clifford played in all 35 games with 33 starts for the Buffs in 2022-23, averaging 21.8 minutes, 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, while shooting .374 overall, .288 on 3-pointers and .532 at the free-throw line. For the second consecutive year as a rotation player, Clifford had more turnovers (60) than assists (52).

Clifford remained a stand-up interview throughout his late struggles that season, and Boyle admitted this week the signing of Cody Williams played an important role in Clifford’s decision to transfer. That part is completely understandable, but unfortunate for the Buffs in retrospect.

Five-star recruits destined for the NBA lottery, like Williams, don’t commit to programs with an expectation of having to earn playing time. Yet had Clifford stuck it out anyway, and the Buffs received even last year’s version of Nique Clifford (third team All-Mountain West; 12.2 points, 7.6 and 3.0 assists per game; .522 FG% and .376 3%), Williams would have been supplanted from the starting lineup when he suffered a fractured wrist in December. And maybe the fortunes of a team with a blossoming Nique Clifford in the rotation and a lottery pick coming off the bench, when healthy, reaches an even higher ceiling than last year’s Buffs.

Ah, but that’s the beauty of speculation. Like wondering what would’ve happened in 2013-14 had Spencer Dinwiddie not blown out his knee. Or if Derrick White didn’t have to sit out a season as a transfer and could’ve played for the 2015-16 Buffs. We’ll just never know.

Again, the decision couldn’t have worked out better for Clifford, who was a player sorely in need of a confidence transfusion by the time he reached the finish line at CU. No doubt, CSU coach Niko Medved and his staff have succeeded where Boyle and his did not in tapping Clifford’s full potential. But Clifford had to shoulder his role in the separation as well. And he has turned those struggles into motivation during this time at CSU.

Maybe Clifford wasn’t being used optimally at CU. But he had plenty of chances to force the issue. You don’t shoot an inexplicable .532 at the free-throw line because you’re not in the best role. The change-of-scenery factor was very real.

For CSU fans, one of the best aspects of the Rams’ NCAA Tournament first-round win Friday against Memphis was it was a ho-hum game from Clifford compared to the torrid four-game pace he set late in the year. That stretch began with a huge CSU road win at Boise State in the regular season finale and went through the Rams’ three-game run to the MWC tournament championship, when Clifford shot .565 while averaging 27.8 points.

Turn in another performance along those lines during Sunday’s second-round battle against Maryland, and there’s a good chance Clifford will help end an in-state program’s Sweet 16 drought. It just won’t be CU’s.