As the Buffaloes gear up for their Nov. 9 season opener at home against Montana State, Tad Boyle has experimented with the youthful roster he possesses, switching up starting lineups and in general the Buffs' rotation.

In both of CU's preseason exhibition matches, at home against Colorado Mines last Wednesday and at Nebraska Sunday, Boyle went with seniors Evan Battey and Eli Parquet, sophomores Jabari Walker and Tristan da Silva plus redshirt sophomore Keeshawn Barthelemy as his starting five.

In all likelihood, Boyle will continue to tweak his lineups over the duration of the season to best match what looks the Buffs get from opposing teams.

In the first year without departed seniors McKinley Wright IV, D'Shawn Schwartz, Dallas Walton, Jeriah Horne and Maddox Daniels, many questions face a young 2021-2022 Buffaloes team that has nine freshmen and sophomores out of 11 healthy scholarship players.

With the aforementioned graduated players having accounted for about 65% of Colorado's total offensive output last season in addition to 60% of its rebounding, Boyle and his staff will be looking for new players to assume starring roles for the Buffs this year.

Sophomore guard Nique Clifford is prime on that list of players that could be poised to make considerable contributions for CU.

The former four-star standout out of Colorado Springs (The Vanguard School) played just four minutes per game last year in 14 appearances off the bench.

Out of CU's four-strong Class of 2020 that joined the program ahead of last season, that ranked last behind the likes of Walker, da Silva and Luke O'Brien.

However, the 6-foot-6 Clifford has earned praise from his head coach this preseason for chipping in defensively as well as making an effort to rebound aggressively.

"He wasn’t satisfied with last year and he’s a guy I’m really, really proud of, because he came into his freshman year with different expectations of what played out," Boyle said.

"But he was able to adjust and put the team first. Now, he’s in a position where he could be an impact player for us — he’s doing it with his rebounding."

During CU's Costa Rican exhibition in August, Clifford led the Buffs in rebounding in two of four games.

In exhibition games last week against Colorado School of Mines and Nebraska, Clifford rebounded the ball effectively, as well.

His seven boards vs. the Orediggers was second for CU behind true freshman big man Lawson Lovering, while the eight he secured against the Huskers was tied with Battey for the team-high.

In Lincoln last Sunday to face the Cornhuskers, the young buck Buffaloes were served a slice of humble pie, falling to their former Big Eight and Big 12 Conference rival, 82-67, in a game that saw Nebraska jump to an early 30-9 lead and not look back.

It was a pretty ice cold night of shooting (21-of-73, 32%), but Clifford provided one of the few offensive sparks for the Buffs on the night, posting a team-best 50% make rate from the floor (5-of-10) and contributing 12 points, which tied Barthelemy for the team lead.

While the end result was far from pleasing for CU's players and coaches, as it pertains to Clifford, his production offensively and defensively is exactly what he can aspire to repeat moving forward in games that actually count in the win-loss column.

“I think it’s a game I can learn from, just to be able to help my teammates and contribute — especially when some people’s jumpers aren’t falling, I’ve got to be able to do other things, like rebounding (and) playing defense," Clifford said.

"That’s what coach stresses — defense and rebounding, because you can do that everyday. The jumper won’t always fall. So, I think I have to take pride in that this year and I’m willing to do so."

Boyle's program in Boulder is one that places much emphasis on defense and rebounding as opposed to pure scoring.

Clifford has rationalized putting defense and rebounding first, ahead of his offensive production, as the way to best support the team this season. It also is the surest way for him to see extended minutes.

"The jumper will fall some nights, some nights it won’t, so I’m not going to rely on that," he said. "I’m going to just focus on the defense and rebounding. On nights that (my shot) is falling, I’m going to play confident and shoot it. Even when it’s not falling, I’ve got to take open shots and take good shots.”

This offseason, Boyle has entrusted Parquet, who earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team last year, to mentor the Buffs' younger guards, in particular from a defensive perspective.

Clifford has emerged as one of Parquet's more wager and willing pupils.

With Clifford listening to coaches as well as learning from Parquet, Boyle is confident in his ability to emerge as a big-time contributor for the Buffaloes.

“The thing that’s great about Nique is when you ask him to do something, or tell him, ‘Hey, this is what you need to get better at,’ he takes it to heart," Boyle said. "He actually takes it from your meeting or your discussion, and whether it’s, ‘Hey, you’ve got to improve on your perimeter jump shot,’ or ‘You’ve got to become a formidable rebounder for us,’ he takes it to heart."

"He’s very coachable — he’s a guy that wants to get better...He’s a team player and I think he’s going to have a breakout year.”