Colorado State University Athletics
Making the Transition Look Easy
7/23/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Rams have found success with players making the jump
From an outside view, the leap seems intimidating. From Colorado State's perspective, it's all about what you're viewing.
From the player. For Ali Farokhmanesh, it's not all about the skillset, though obviously that matters. The mental approach has to make the physical output. The Rams have found a successful formula in their scouting.
Joel Scott had the numbers. So did Patrick Cartier and Chandler Jacobs as all three joined the program from the Division II ranks. Joe Palmer had a resume at Division III. They also had another link which Farokhmanesh found imperative, which also came into play when adding Amondo Miller Jr., for the upcoming campaign.
"I think this guy can make the jump. It is really similar to high school recruiting in a lot of ways, like winning attributes," Farokhmanesh said. "How they communicate with their teammates, did they come from a winning program, and you look at every single one of those guys, they all came from winning programs. Joel went to the Final Four for two years, and Amondo goes to Elite 8 last year. I believe Chandler was part of one of the best programs in the country at Dallas Baptist. Pat Cartier won too at a place that hadn't won as traditionally as before, so to me, that's everything. And are they a part of the winning. He can't be the 16th guy on the winning team, but each one of those guys was a vital reason for their team's success."
For the second consecutive year, a distinguished group of alumni returned to Moby Arena to play alongside the current group of Rams, and as Scott noted, he didn't recognize many of the names and faces. Not just from his playing days two years ago, but from the return trip home last summer.
He did recognize Miller a pair of Colorado kids who followed a similar collegiate path, and Scott sought him out to talk to him, essentially as a way to ease the newcomer's mind. The level may be different, but the game remains the same. Besides, the program makes the transition easy for a player.
"I was just telling him just do his thing. At the end of the day it's still basketball, so you just gotta go out and play," said Scott, who was a key cog in the Rams' NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. "You know there might be more athletes or whatever, but you just gotta know who you are and trust what you do and the work you put in and go play and have fun and enjoy doing it at a higher level.
"I think it works here a little bit because you know the way Ali and (former coach Niko) Medved run the program. You need high-IQ basketball players to be in the program and coming from even a lower level you still get years of experience of just playing. So once you play and then you come here you're already kind of used to it, used to the mental game of it, and so you come in ready to play."
Miller appreciated the chat, coming away with it buoyed in the belief he carried within himself the first day of summer workouts – confidence.
He came out of Valor Christian during the pandemic and walked on at Colorado. Two years later, he moved to Fort Lewis. The past two years, he starred at Lubbock Christian, raising his level from one season to the next. In 32 games last season, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, all while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 36.4 from beyond the arc.
Confidence was not a problem. He played on a team with Scott during Wednesday's workout and squared off against Nique Clifford, who was a teammate of his in Boulder. He didn't feel out of place in the slightest.
"I've played against these guys. We had something like five NBA players at CU," Miller said. "That verified for me I could play at this level, but going to DII was really just trying to work my way back. I've always had the confidence I could play at this level, even when I was 18.
"That's how I approach basketball in general. Especially where I've been. It took me a long time to get here, and the only way I was able to get here was hard work and having that chip on my shoulder. That's how I play. That's how I approach every day."
Farokhmanesh was impressed by the numbers and the transformation. Recruiting was a weird time when Miller came out of high school, and the CSU staff knew about him. What Farokhmanesh has noticed over the years is Miller athleticism has advanced, as has his shooting stroke, making him a threat at all three levels.
Seeing numbers and tape is one thing. Seeing in person is believing, and that's where Farokhmanesh draws his conclusion, the way Miller has approached workouts.
With that chip.
"He one of our best defenders, crashes the glass and is offensive rebounding. His effort levels, he's constant," Farokhmanesh said. "There's not one time where you're looking out there with him when he was not ready to go. Now that is a special skill in and of itself."
Being from the Centennial State wasn't a factor in his next move, but Miller was swayed to come home with the approach the Rams took. They approached him early and with clear intent. They made him feel wanted.
In the end, he's glad to be back home, and Scott feels it will hit him a bit harder when the season starts. When his friends and family can see him play regularly. For Scott, it created an extra layer of comfort he could carry on the court.
"Once games started coming around, you'd start to feel the love and everyone coming out to support and it's special," Scott said. "It's something that's really cool about being a Colorado kid getting to come back to Colorado to play."
As Miller took the court Wednesday with generations of Rams, it felt good. Right. He played alongside a few NBA players, a couple of guys who have represented the home state well. He can even recall meeting J.D. Paige when he was a teenager, though he's not sure Paige himself would recall these handful of years later.
What he also felt was his place. He belonged, and he's more than ready to prove it when the season tips off a few months from now. His current track has brought him to a place where similar paths have proven a track record of success.
From the player. For Ali Farokhmanesh, it's not all about the skillset, though obviously that matters. The mental approach has to make the physical output. The Rams have found a successful formula in their scouting.
Joel Scott had the numbers. So did Patrick Cartier and Chandler Jacobs as all three joined the program from the Division II ranks. Joe Palmer had a resume at Division III. They also had another link which Farokhmanesh found imperative, which also came into play when adding Amondo Miller Jr., for the upcoming campaign.
"I think this guy can make the jump. It is really similar to high school recruiting in a lot of ways, like winning attributes," Farokhmanesh said. "How they communicate with their teammates, did they come from a winning program, and you look at every single one of those guys, they all came from winning programs. Joel went to the Final Four for two years, and Amondo goes to Elite 8 last year. I believe Chandler was part of one of the best programs in the country at Dallas Baptist. Pat Cartier won too at a place that hadn't won as traditionally as before, so to me, that's everything. And are they a part of the winning. He can't be the 16th guy on the winning team, but each one of those guys was a vital reason for their team's success."
For the second consecutive year, a distinguished group of alumni returned to Moby Arena to play alongside the current group of Rams, and as Scott noted, he didn't recognize many of the names and faces. Not just from his playing days two years ago, but from the return trip home last summer.
He did recognize Miller a pair of Colorado kids who followed a similar collegiate path, and Scott sought him out to talk to him, essentially as a way to ease the newcomer's mind. The level may be different, but the game remains the same. Besides, the program makes the transition easy for a player.
"I was just telling him just do his thing. At the end of the day it's still basketball, so you just gotta go out and play," said Scott, who was a key cog in the Rams' NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. "You know there might be more athletes or whatever, but you just gotta know who you are and trust what you do and the work you put in and go play and have fun and enjoy doing it at a higher level.
"I think it works here a little bit because you know the way Ali and (former coach Niko) Medved run the program. You need high-IQ basketball players to be in the program and coming from even a lower level you still get years of experience of just playing. So once you play and then you come here you're already kind of used to it, used to the mental game of it, and so you come in ready to play."
Miller appreciated the chat, coming away with it buoyed in the belief he carried within himself the first day of summer workouts – confidence.
He came out of Valor Christian during the pandemic and walked on at Colorado. Two years later, he moved to Fort Lewis. The past two years, he starred at Lubbock Christian, raising his level from one season to the next. In 32 games last season, he averaged 21.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, all while shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 36.4 from beyond the arc.
Confidence was not a problem. He played on a team with Scott during Wednesday's workout and squared off against Nique Clifford, who was a teammate of his in Boulder. He didn't feel out of place in the slightest.
"I've played against these guys. We had something like five NBA players at CU," Miller said. "That verified for me I could play at this level, but going to DII was really just trying to work my way back. I've always had the confidence I could play at this level, even when I was 18.
"That's how I approach basketball in general. Especially where I've been. It took me a long time to get here, and the only way I was able to get here was hard work and having that chip on my shoulder. That's how I play. That's how I approach every day."
Farokhmanesh was impressed by the numbers and the transformation. Recruiting was a weird time when Miller came out of high school, and the CSU staff knew about him. What Farokhmanesh has noticed over the years is Miller athleticism has advanced, as has his shooting stroke, making him a threat at all three levels.
Seeing numbers and tape is one thing. Seeing in person is believing, and that's where Farokhmanesh draws his conclusion, the way Miller has approached workouts.
With that chip.
"He one of our best defenders, crashes the glass and is offensive rebounding. His effort levels, he's constant," Farokhmanesh said. "There's not one time where you're looking out there with him when he was not ready to go. Now that is a special skill in and of itself."
Being from the Centennial State wasn't a factor in his next move, but Miller was swayed to come home with the approach the Rams took. They approached him early and with clear intent. They made him feel wanted.
In the end, he's glad to be back home, and Scott feels it will hit him a bit harder when the season starts. When his friends and family can see him play regularly. For Scott, it created an extra layer of comfort he could carry on the court.
"Once games started coming around, you'd start to feel the love and everyone coming out to support and it's special," Scott said. "It's something that's really cool about being a Colorado kid getting to come back to Colorado to play."
As Miller took the court Wednesday with generations of Rams, it felt good. Right. He played alongside a few NBA players, a couple of guys who have represented the home state well. He can even recall meeting J.D. Paige when he was a teenager, though he's not sure Paige himself would recall these handful of years later.
What he also felt was his place. He belonged, and he's more than ready to prove it when the season tips off a few months from now. His current track has brought him to a place where similar paths have proven a track record of success.
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