DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake University head men's basketball coach Niko Medved announced Friday, April 28, the hiring of Ali Farokhmanesh as an assistant coach.
 
"It's a great day to add Ali to our staff here at Drake," Medved said. "As a coach, Ali is the entire package. He has tremendous character, is a great communicator, he knows how to teach the game and is a tireless worker. Ali has deep roots here in Iowa and had a storied career as a player in the Missouri Valley. He has also developed many important recruiting ties during his time at Nebraska and will hit the ground running."
 
Farokhmanesh (pronounced fuh-ROAK-muh-NESH) joins the Bulldogs' staff after spending the last three seasons at the University of Nebraska, serving most recently as the Director of Player Relations and Development. He is well known to Drake fans and followers of Missouri Valley Conference basketball having played two seasons at UNI where he helped the Panthers to a 53-16 record with two NCAA Tournament appearances, including the school's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2009-10.
 
"I am very excited to return to Iowa and the Missouri Valley Conference," Farokhmanesh said. "I have so much respect for Coach Medved and the programs he has developed, so this opportunity is very special for me. I look forward to helping Niko build the Bulldog basketball program and to being part of the Drake family. My family is excited to be a part of this outstanding university and the community."
 
At Nebraska, he managed and oversaw the off-the court responsibilities of the student-athletes including the implementation of mentoring programs and community outreach. On campus, he directed recruiting operations, including on-campus hosting duties.
 
"I'm excited for Ali to join my good friend Niko Medved at Drake," said Nebraska head coach Tim Miles. "Ali has been a tremendous asset to our program for the past three years and we will miss him greatly, but it is great to see him get the opportunity to get on the floor and on the road recruiting. I have no doubt he will do a tremendous job for Drake basketball."
 
Following his storied career at UNI, Farokhmanesh spent four seasons playing professionally overseas in the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. In 2013-14, he was the Sixth Man of the Year in the Dutch Basketball League, averaging 10.4 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. His best season was with SAM Massagno Basket in the Swiss league in 2010-11, where he averaged 19.5 points, 3.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range.
 
As a senior, he earned honorable-mention All-MVC accolades, averaging 9.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, as UNI went 30-5, including an upset of top-seeded Kansas to reach the Sweet 16. In that game, Farokhmanesh had 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left to clinch the victory and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He also provided the heroics in UNI's second-round win over UNLV, finishing with 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left for the final margin.
 
In his first season at UNI, Farokhmanesh started all 34 games and averaged 9.6 points and 1.6 assists per game en route to being named to the MVC All-Newcomer squad. He played two years of junior college basketball, earning first-team NJCAA Division II All-America honors at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after starring at Iowa City West High School.
 
Farokhmanesh received his degree in finance from UNI in 2010 and earned his master's degree in educational administration from Nebraska in 2016. Ali and his wife Mallory have a son, Tai.