Continuity.
That’s the primary tool Colorado State men’s basketball head coach Ali Farokhmanesh is looking to utilize in preparation for CSU’s first Pac-12 season.
A vast majority of the players from last year’s 21-13 team are returning for yet another season at CSU, and Farokhmanesh is hoping to build off of an impressive first season as head coach.
“(We’ll) just hit the ground running in a different way than we have in the past,” Farokhmanesh said. “It feels a little bit more like the years before when you have so much continuity.”
While CSU’s first official practice of the season was Sept. 24, the team has been working hard together on and off the court this offseason to ensure they can hit the ground running like Farokhmanesh wants.
“We spent a lot of time together this summer,” junior guard Jase Butler said. “We started doing things outside the court, so I feel like now it feels like we’ve been together for almost, like, six, seven months.”
With so many returning players, acclimating the few fresh faces to a team that already has so much chemistry can be often daunting.
However, like Farokhmanesh has stated time and time again: The new additions had an impressive start.
“The coaches recruit really good guys, so that’s the easy part,” Butler said. “So when they come here, all we really do is just spend time together, get to know each other, you know? Just compete and sweat equity on the court.”
The offseason work the Rams put in is a part of what they hope will allow them to get off to a fast start this season, but Farokhmanesh said it’s the personality of the team as a whole that allows players to grow, fit in and get ready.
“They’re willing to be coached; they’re not entitled,” Farokhmanesh said. “They show up every day. When you have humility and you show up every day, I don’t want anything else. As long as you work hard, if you have the humility to understand, like, you’re coachable, you’ll listen to those veterans, listen to those coaches: You’ve got a chance to grow in this program.”
While the Rams had an impressive season during Farokhmanesh’s first year as head coach, the mindset in the locker room is to continue to improve and help each other grow.
The Rams played postseason basketball last year, making a National Invitation Tournament appearance, but they aren’t satisfied with the way their season ended. Heading into their first year in the Pac-12, the eager team will have a head coach entering his second season with a solid resume under his belt.
“You can tell (Farokhmanesh) is getting comfortable, for sure,” junior forward Kyle Jorgensen said. “You have his moments where he’s pretty loud, but you also have (moments when) he’s very quiet. I think, like me, he’s trying to find that balance of when to lead, when not to lead (and) when to let others lead.”
Despite the 21-win season in his first year, Farokhmanesh and his players believe the team has a lot of room to improve, and they said they are already starting to see those improvements show up during practice.
“You kind of see our offense ahead of where it was last year because there’s so much continuity,” Butler said. “All of the older guys are helping the younger guys kind of pick things up, the transfers, so it’s been a lot more (of a) seamless transition, I’d say.”
For the players, they are already reaping the fruits of their labor from both the offseason and years past.
Butler is entering his second year as a Ram, and Jorgensen has spent the entirety of his three-year collegiate career at CSU. The time they’ve spent working with Farokhmanesh and the CSU staff has given them an understanding of where they need to improve and what helped them grow as players.
“My first year and my sophomore year I had a very good mindset,” Jorgensen said. “I think this year (my mindset) was just all aspects of it. I think it was leadership; I think it was hitting the gym; I think it was treatment. I wanted to amp up everything. I just realized it wasn’t going to be overnight, you know? It’s a day-by-day, stone-by-stone kind of thing.”
With just seven practices left until the team’s first game, the time they’ve spent working over the summer will give them a solid foundation to build upon.
“We’ll get to see somebody else pretty soon here,” Farokhmanesh said. “I know those guys are excited about seven practices until you see somebody.”
Reach Jack Randels at sports@collegian.com or on social media @jackrandelsmedia.
