WNBA draft: Michigan State star Nia Clouden drafted to Connecticut Sun in Round 1

Michigan State women's basketball star Nia Clouden broke records during her time in East Lansing.

Now, she'll she what she can do at the highest level of the sport. Clouden, a four-year star for the Spartans, was drafted No. 12 overall in Monday night's WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun.

Clouden was surrounded by family on draft night and after shouting out her grandmother and cousins from Brooklyn, she explained the important role her parents and siblings played in her growth.

"(My mom) always told me to set goals and work to achieve them, my dad too," Clouden told ESPN's Holly Rowe after walking off the draft stage. "I feel like that’s how I’ve really been able to improve over the years thanks to them."

Clouden was one of just 12 athletes invited to New York City to attend the draft in person as her stock continued to rise from under-the-radar as a freshman, to a tantalizing next-level prospect.

She finished her Michigan State career No. 2 all-time in career points (1,882) and etched her name into the record books when she scored a program-record 50 points against Florida Gulf Coast in December.

Clouden, a 5-foot-8 guard from Owings Mills, Maryland, started and played in all 117 games during her four years with MSU and led the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (88.5%) as a senior.

Clouden said Monday night she plans to hit the ground running in training camp to make what's expected to be a competitive roster this summer and quickly identified the areas of her game she looks to grow the most.

"I plan on trying to improve my defense, my physicality and my strength overall," she said in the Zoom news conference after being drafted. "The WNBA is a league of grown women who are bigger and faster and stronger overall ... so those are some of my main goals."

The guard led her team in scoring each of the past three years and put up a career-high 20.0 points this season, to go with 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals and shot a career-best 39.6% from long range.

It's her ability to do just about everything on the offensive end that she says will be her biggest asset.

"I think my strength is in my versatility and being an offensive player who can score at three levels," Clouden said. "Shoot the 3, hit the mid-range and get to the basket."

Clouden said she didn't model here game after anyone intentionally, but she did have someone who she idolized growing up. Not just his ability on the court, but his mentality — the late Kobe Bryant.

"I really was influenced by Kobe Bryant, he was my favorite player of all time," Clouden said in her news conference. "Just how he tries to get a bucket every time … his mentality of just get things done."

The senior finished the season fifth in scoring in the league and seventh in made free throws, as she was named to the All-Big Ten team for the fourth consecutive year and was named to two All-American lists (Associated Press and WBCA) as an honorable mention.

Clouden is now the fifth Michigan State women's basketball player to be drafted to the WNBA in the league's 26 years. The last was Tori Jankoska, who was drafted No. 9 overall by the Chicago Sky in 2017. The only Spartan currently in the league is Aerial Powers, taken No. 5 overall by the Dallas Wings in 2016 and now plays for the Minnesota Lynx.

Kristin Hayne, one of Clouden's assistant coaches during her time at MSU, was the first Spartan to be drafted, going No. 9 in 2005. Her teammate Liz Shimek followed suit and was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round the following year.

So, what are the Sun — who were already seen as contenders entering the 2022-23 season — getting in Clouden?

"A competitor," Clouden said. "Somebody who is ready to work hard, someone who’s just wants to work and learn and improve.

"I just want to bring to the team is a spark. It doesn’t matter if I’m off the bench for five minutes, I just want to give Connecticut a spark."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: WNBA draft: Michigan State's Nia Clouden goes to Connecticut Sun