Colorado State didn’t take long to replace Niko Medved, who left CSU to take the Minnesota job earlier this week.
Less than 60 hours later, the Rams hired Ali Farokhmanesh, who was on Medved’s staff at CSU from the start in 2018 all the way through this past Sunday’s buzzer-beating loss to Maryland, 72-71, in the Round of 32.
The 36-year-old Farokhmanesh is best known for his heroics in the 2010 NCAA Tournament during his playing days at Northern Iowa. The Panthers were a #9 seed slated to face eighth-seeded UNLV in the opening round.
The Rebels’ Oscar Bellfield hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining. But with seven ticks left, Farokhmanesh countered with a go-ahead trey that turned out to be the game winner in a 69-66 win.
Farokhmanesh scored a game-high 17 points against UNLV, draining 5-of-9 launches from 3-point range.
Two days later, No. Iowa took on top-seeded Kansas in the Round of 32. The Panthers went to halftime with a 36-28 lead over KU.
They kept the lead for the entire second half, but the Jayhawks pulled to within one at 63-62 on a layup by Sherron Collins with 43 seconds remaining.
After a KU timeout, No. Iowa broke the Jayhawks’ full-court pressure with a pass ahead to Farokhmanesh, who squared up and let it fly despite a seven-second difference between the game and shot clocks. The rest is history, as his shot caught nothing by nylon and No. Iowa advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 69-67 win.
The audacious shot landed Farokhmanesh on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.
In a statement released by the school last night, CSU athletic director John Weber said, “I am thrilled that Ali will continue leading our men’s basketball program, now as head coach.”
“Ali has a relentless attitude that he attacks each day with, which was important to us as we looked for the next leader of our men’s basketball program,” Weber added. “There has been significant interest in the head coach position at Colorado State. After an extremely comprehensive and competitive national search, Ali’s continued leadership of this program is important and really excites me.”
During Medved’s tenure with Farokhmanesh by his side on the bench, Colorado St. had five winning seasons and won at least 20 games five times. The Rams won 25 games or more in each of the three seasons they went to the NCAA Tournament. They made the Round of 32 this year with a 78-70 win over Memphis as two-point favorites.
CSU was on an 11-game winning streak before losing to the Terrapins at the buzzer. The Rams won the Mountain West Conference Tournament with a 69-56 win over Boise State in the finals.
In a statement released by the school, Farokhmanesh said, “I want to thank President Amy Parsons, John Weber, Scott Sidwell, and Christina Diaz for believing me and giving me the opportunity to be the head coach at Colorado St. Serving under Coach Medved has been a privilege, and I will forever be grateful to him for bringing me to Fort Collins. This university and state are special because of the great people. I am grateful for all who have been so welcoming and supportive of me and my family during our time here and look forward to continuing to grow those bonds in our community. I can’t wait to continue to build off the championship foundation our players have established and push it to greater heights.”
Farokhmanesh reportedly signed a five-year contract worth $4.5 million.