championships this month as he has led the University of Northern Iowa to two upset victories against Kansas and Las Vegas.
One of his baskets was so perfect and so stunning that, said the Kansas City Star, it is “one of those video clips that will now live on every March” to be shown during the national tournament.
If you haven’t heard of the University of Northern Iowa, you are one of many. It isn’t a household word in the basketball world-at least not until last week.
Farokhmanesh will get a chance to see if he can make it three in a row tonight when his team plays Michigan State University in a nationally televised game of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball playoffs known around the country as “March Madness.”
Farokhmanesh has drawn much attention for firing a three-pointer in the last minute of Northern Iowa’s match against Kansas, ranked Number One in the Midwest region. Farokh-manesh had the ball with his team one point in the lead and 35 seconds to go. Conventional basketball wisdom says you hold on to the ball and kill time.
The Kansas player guarding Farokhmanesh understood that and backed away, leaving Farokhmanesh all alone. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wrote: “It’s a split-second decision that will rock the NCAA Tournament.”
Two rows up in the stands, his mother, Cindy Fredrick, is yelling for him to shoot. “I always want him to shoot,” she said later. “Always. His dad yells the same thing. But he’s Iranian, so you can’t always understand it,” she chuckles.
Seconds later, Northern Iowa beat Kansas 69-67. “And there won’t be a bigger upset in the tournament because there isn’t a bigger power left,” said the Kansas City Star.
The 6-foot, 190-pound, 21-year-old senior guard was the top scorer with 16 points during that March 20 upset. His name is a mouthful for sportscasters who sometimes just drop the last name and refer to him as Ali. But the “funny name” doesn’t set him apart. After all, his fellow guard at Northern Iowa is Kwadzo Ahelegbe, a native of Ghana.
A tight defense, good rebounding, solid teamwork and great conversion from the three-point line in the first half were the reasons for a half time lead of 36-28 for Northern Iowa. Kansas fought hard and came back into the game, cutting Northern Iowa’s lead to only one point in the final minute. But Farokhmanesh’s three-point shot proved the key.
Two days earlier, during the first round March 18 game between Northern Iowa and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), almost the same thing happened. Farokhmanesh was the leading scorer with 17 points, making his final 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left, sending UNLV packing after a 69-66 upset victory.
“That’s what you dream for, is to make a shot like that,” said Farokhmanesh, who is majoring in marketing. “It just felt good to actually do it.”
Farokhmanesh was born April 16, 1988, in Pullman, Washington, and grew up in Iowa, his mother’s home. His parents have since moved back to Washington State.
His father, Mashallah Farokhmanesh, played on Iran’s national volleyball squad. Both of his parents are volleyball coaches.
Mashallah is currently the assistant women’s volleyball coach at Washington State University, where he has been working for the past 13 years. Born in Burojerd, Mashallah graduated from Pahlavi High School where he played volleyball for four years. In college, Mashallah played on the men’s volleyball team, which won the collegiate championship twice. He was honored all four years with all-star recognition. He later went on to play for the Iranian National Team for seven years as team captain.
Mashallah came to the United States in 1977, and two years later, earned his masters degree in physical education at Western Illinois University. The following year, he was drafted by the New Mexico franchise of the men’s professional volleyball league.
Mashallah later earned his educational doctorate in elementary school physical education in 1985 from Brigham Young University. While at BYU, he was a player and later a coach on the men’s volleyball club team for three seasons. He originally had no intention of staying in the United States, but……
While he was teaching a summer camp volleyball clinic, Mashallah met Cindy Fredrick, who was the head coach at Weber State in Utah between 1985 and 1989. In 1989, the pair took over the volleyball program at Washington State. The couple has one son, Ali.
Much of the March Madness NCAA tournament reporting has touched on the success of Farokhmanesh in leading Northern Iowa to two upset victories. Farokhmanesh told reporters that the success was largely due to a solid defense.
“That’s why we win games is because our defense is consistent,” Farokhmanesh said. “Your offense is up and down usually, but as long as your defense is there, you have a chance to win basketball games.”
Said the Kansas City Star, which certainly wasn’t rooting for Northern Iowa, “Three days ago, you probably never heard of Farokhmanesh. Now he is one of the tournament’s darlings.”
March Madness starts with 64 college basketball teams. Northern Iowa has been one of those 64 before. But it’s been 20 years since it won a game in the tournament and moved up to the 32 in the second round. With its defeat of Kansas this year, the team is now among the “sweet 16.”