Kirkwood News
Men's Basketball - Tue, Apr 13, 2010
"Ka-Boom" was sports broadcaster Gary Rima's description of the successful shots made by the UNI Panthers beyond the 3-point line.  At Kirkwood it was "that's another THREE by ALI".  Any way you say it, it is still a testamonial to a hard-working, fantastic student-athlete.

Reported by Darrin Cline and Tyler Loring
Kirkwood "Communique"
Before Ali Farokhmanesh was making Cinderella shots in the NCAA tournament, he was perfecting his skills on the hardwood of Johnson Hall.

Farokhmanesh made national headlines in this year's "Big Dance" by draining heartbreaking three pointers against UNLV in the first round and producing the biggest upset of the tournament by ousting No. 1 overall seed Kansas in the second round.

Farokhmanesh made national sports news shows everywhere from Cedar Rapids to New York.
The game-winning shot Farokhmanesh made against Kansas was amazing for many reasons, including the fact that Farokhmanesh had missed all five three-point attempts to start the game, so it was a high-risk, high-reward situation. The Panthers got the high reward.

The senior guard for the University of Northern Iowa Panthers produced one of the most captivating stories of the basketball season, but his own college story did not begin on the grandest stage.
Farokhmanesh began at Iowa City West High School where he was selected to the Iowa High School Athletic Association All-State First Team.

However, he did not find a Division I suitor and took the community college route.
"We recruited him hard out of Iowa City and got him after a year at Indian Hills Community College," said Kirkwood head coach Doug Wagemester.

Once Farokhmanesh got to Kirkwood, Wagemester knew he had found something special.
"Ali brought to the table every day what you try to get out of kids daily," Wagemester said.
With his work ethic and strong shooting prowess, Farokhmanesh garnered NJCAA Division II First Team All-American honors.

After his time at Kirkwood, Farokhmanesh made the trip north to Cedar Falls and joined Ben Jacobson's Panther squad. Adam Rodenberg also played for Kirkwood in 2007. He is a senior for the Panthers and is a reserve player.

Wagemester made the trip to St. Louis to watch Farokhmanesh in the third-round game of the NCAA tournament. Northern Iowa had just one NCAA tournament victory in program history before this year. Northern Iowa was defeated by Michigan State in the third-round game to end its historic season.

Farokhmanesh will be forever remembered as the little guy who helped the little school knock off a college basketball giant.