March Madness legend Farokhmanesh named Colorado State head coach

Colorado State is promoting assistant Ali Farokhmanesh to head coach, the school announced Wednesday.

The 36-year-old will replace Niko Medved, who left to take over at Minnesota on Monday.

“I am thrilled that Ali will continue leading our men’s basketball program, now as head coach,” Colorado State athletics director John Weber said in a statement.

“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.”

Farokhmanesh became a March Madness legend during his playing days at Northern Iowa. In the 2010 tourney, he hit a crucial 3-pointer to seal the No. 9 Panthers’ upset victory over top-seeded Kansas in the second round.

He went undrafted in 2010 after attending Northern Iowa and played four years of pro basketball in Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands.

Farokhmanesh transitioned to coaching in 2013 before earning a job as an assistant under Medved at Drake in 2017.

He followed Medved to Colorado State in 2018.

“Serving under coach Medved has been a privilege, and I will forever be grateful to him for bringing me to Fort Collins,” Farokhmanesh said.

“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.”

The Rams went 26-10 overall this season and 16-4 in the Mountain West, good for second in the conference.

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