One Shining Moment: That time Ali knocked out top-seeded Kansas
Editor's note: This week, Stewart Mandel will be looking back at four "one shining moments" from March Madness history. This is the first.
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The game: March 20, 2010. Ninth-seeded Northern Iowa stunned No. 1 overall seed Kansas, 69-67, to advance to its first-ever Sweet 16.
The play: With Northern Iowa clinging to a one-point lead with less than 36 seconds left, shooting guard Ali Farokhmanesh got ahead of the Jayhawks' defense. Instead of milking the clock or waiting to get fouled, the senior pulled up from the deep right wing for a dagger three. "You can't be serious with that shot!" exclaimed analyst Dan Bonner.
The aftermath: Back on campus a couple of days later, Farokhmanesh, a senior, found out during an 8 a.m. class he was on the cover of the new Sports Illustrated. "It was kind of hard to sit through the rest of that class," he says now. "And kind of hard to sleep that night when everyone you possibly know tries to reach you." The whirlwind publicity rush ended when fifth-seed Michigan State eliminated Northern Iowa, 59-52. But Farokhmanesh's shot remains a March Madness fixture -- even in places like Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands, where he played professionally for four seasons.
"I remember watching it with my teammates, it would randomly come up on spots for CBS. They would give me crap," he says. "Most of them said I ruined their bracket."
Farokhmanesh, now 26, returned to college basketball this season. He and his wife, Mallory, moved back to the States last summer shortly before the birth of their son, Tai. One of Farokhmanesh's former UNI assistant coaches, Ben Johnson, had just spent a season at Nebraska, and Mallory, a former Iowa volleyball player, is from nearby Council Bluffs. Johnson connected him with Huskers coach Tim Miles, who fortuitously had a graduate assistant opening. So Farokhmanesh and his family moved to Lincoln, where he spent the season watching film, helping with the scout team -- "anything they need," he says.
A Pullman, Washington, native, Ali's mother, Cindy Frederick, and father, Mashallah Farokhmanesh, are longtime college volleyball coaches (currently head coach and assistant, respectively, at UNLV). Ali seems headed on a similar career path. "I always knew eventually I wanted to [go into coaching]," he says. "I grew up on a college campus. It's a natural fit."
Nebraska did not reach the Dance this year, finishing a disappointing 13-18, but Farokhmanesh is sure to show up during tourney broadcasts again in the coming days -- especially with Northern Iowa back in the field. "You dream of being in those situations," he says now. "It's still surreal to see it on there."
Stewart Mandel is a senior college sports columnist for FOXSports.com. He covered college football and basketball for 15 years at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter @slmandel. Send emails and Mailbag questions to Stewart.Mandel@fox.com.
