Nia Clouden (born May 17, 2000) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. She played college basketball at Michigan State. Clouden was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 2000 Owings Mills, Maryland, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Listed weight | 139 lb (63 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | St. Frances (Baltimore, Maryland ) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2022: 1st round, 12th overall pick |
| Selected by the Connecticut Sun | |
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| 2022 | Connecticut Sun |
| 2023 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2023 | REG |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
College career
editClouden came into her freshman year at Michigan State after being ranked the 42nd overall recruit in the 2018 ESPN HoopGurlz rankings.[1]
Clouden's Spartan debut came in an exhibition game and she showed early how good she could become. She posted a near triple-double with 13 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds against Hillsdale. Clouden started right away as a freshman and impressed head coach Suzy Merchant with her ability to run the team.[2] Clouden continued to impress throughout her freshman year and was awarded being selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman team, as well as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.[3]
Clouden impressed in her second season in East Lansing as she was the leading scorer for the Spartans at 14.5 points per game.[4] Clouden was named to the All-Tournament team when the Spartans went to the Junkanoo Jam tournament in November 2019.[5] She scored a then career-high 28 points against Notre Dame in an early season win for the Spartans as well. She made 4 3-pointers, and added 3 steals and 3 rebounds[6] Clouden was once again awarded from the Big Ten Conference for her year, this time earning All-Big Ten Second Team.[7]
Clouden improved her scoring in her junior year once again. She was fifth overall in the entire conference averaging 18.7 points. She also became a top stealer - ranking 15th overall in the conference with 1.6 steals. In a rivalry game against in-state Michigan, Clouden set a new career high with 34 points.[8] She again also improved in her honors from the Big Ten - this time moving up to All-Big Ten First Team.[9]
In her senior season, Clouden put on one last show for the Spartans. She dropped a career high 50 points against Florida Gulf Coast. The 50 points broke the Michigan State women's basketball single game scoring record of 42 - previously held by Tori Jankoska.[10] Clouden was award All-Big Ten First Team for a 2nd time in her career and added some All-American Honorable Mentions to her collection - from the AP and the WBCA.[11]
College statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Michigan State | 33 | 397 | .442 | .368 | .747 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 12.0 |
| 2019–20 | Michigan State | 30 | 436 | .381 | .274 | .823 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 14.5 |
| 2020–21 | Michigan State | 24 | 448 | .464 | .324 | .780 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 18.7 |
| 2021–22 | Michigan State | 30 | 601 | .427 | .396 | .885 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 20.0 |
| Career | 117 | 1882 | .427 | .341 | .813 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 16.1 |
Professional career
editConnecticut Sun
editIn the 2022 WNBA draft, Clouden was selected in the 1st Round - 12th overall - by the Connecticut Sun.[12] Clouden made the opening day roster for 2022 - one of three new additions to the team from 2021.[13]
Overseas
editOn November 25, 2023, Clouden signed a short-term contract with REG from Rwanda to play in the FIBA Africa Women's Basketball League (AWBL).[14]
WNBA career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Connecticut | 28 | 0 | 8.9 | .340 | .414 | .588 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| 2023 | Los Angeles | 5 | 1 | 10.8 | .300 | .333 | .500 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 33 | 1 | 9.2 | .333 | .406 | .579 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Connecticut | 7 | 0 | 4.6 | .444 | .500 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
| Career | 1 year, 1 team | 7 | 0 | 4.6 | .444 | .500 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
References
edit- ^ "2018 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Tidwell; Trofatter, Sara; Chloe. "Moments that defined Nia Clouden's Spartan career ahead of the WNBA Draft". state news.com. The State News. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN". Big Ten Conference. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "2019-20 W. Basketball Cumulative Statistics". msuspartans.com. MSU Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Michigan State Women's Basketball. "Congrats to our own @NiaClouden for earning @JunkanooJam All-Tournament honors!! Back to Michigan we go ✈️". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "No. 16 Michigan State women hold off No. 15 Notre Dame 72-69". ESPN.com. Associated Press. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "2019-20 Big Ten Women's Basketball Honors Announced On BTN". Big Ten Conference. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "Michigan State vs. Michigan". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "2020-21 All-Big En Women's Basketball Teams & Honors" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Hruby, Emma. "MICHIGAN STATE'S NIA CLOUDEN DROPS 50 POINTS IN LOSS TO FGCU". justwomenssports.com. Just Women's Sports. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "Nia Clouden Earns WBCA Honorable Mention All-American Honors". msuspartans.com. MSU Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Garcia, Tony. "WNBA draft: Michigan State star Nia Clouden drafted to Connecticut Sun in Round 1". freep.com. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "Connecticut Sun Finalizes Opening Day Roster". sun.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Sikubwabo, Damas (2023-11-25). "WNBA star Nia Clouden agrees to short-term deal with REG Women". The New Times. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Michigan State bio