CSU officially announced the hire Monday. The 61-year-old Pilipovich spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico under Richard Pitino. Pitino has been hired at Xavier,

Colorado State hired Niko Medved's top assistant to replace him as basketball coach following a quick 24-hour search. Ali Farokhmanesh, 36, was promoted Wednesday evening after Medved left earlier this week.

When Clifford hit the transfer portal after leaving CU, Farokmanesh, the CSU Rams assistant who’d recruited Nique when the kid was a springy teen out of the Springs, reached out instantly for a second chance. After Nique eventually chose CSU, it was Coach Ali who helped break down No. 10’s jumper and rebuild it from the ground up.