After taking its fair share of lumps during the 2000-01 campaign, theSac State men’s basketball team will look toward a reversal of fortunein the immediate future and the process begins now–in the recruitingseason.

The Hornets won five games this season and finished dead last in thenine-team Big Sky. Head coach Jerome Jenkins will now put his attentionoff the court, and he has taken the necessary steps to lift the men’sbasketball program out of the cellar and into the upper echelon of theconference.

Like every coach looking to turn around a desperate program, Jenkins,who recently signed a one-year contract extension, has sought for hisanswers on the road. During a whirlwind scouting and recruitingadventure, that has carried him through Los Angeles, New Mexico andTexas, Jenkins nabbed two promising young players that are sure to bring a big impact next season for the Hornets.

Jenkins has grabbed two strong recruits with loads of potential in ChrisLange, a 6 feet 8 inch power forward who can shoot the three as easilyas he could spin and dunk, as well as 6 feet 7 inch tall shooting guardLeo Cravey, who can put the ball in the basket from anywhere on thecourt. Both have committed to Sac State, and both bring with themathleticism and a winning attitude.

These two incoming players have Jenkins feeling very optimistic for nextseason.”This program will win,” Jenkins said. “We will win.”

That is something that Sac State fans have been waiting to hear, andeager to see.In Lange and Cravey come several answers to problems that plagued theHornet cagers all season long. Despite having the one-two connection ofRickie Glenn and Pablo Gonzales, who collectively chipped in 30 pointsper game, the Hornets lacked the true and consistent scorer. In Langeand Cravey, the Hornets get explosion and efficiency.”Chris is extremely versatile in that he is very skilled and physicaldown low but can also step outside and hit the three-pointer,” Jenkinssaid.

“Leo also brings a great deal of versatility to the team in that he canplay three positions (shooting guard, small and power forward),” Jenkinssaid. “We want to put him on the wing and let him go to work.”

Lange, a power forward who will enter as a true freshman, hails fromAlbuquerque, New Mexico. Still in the midst of his senior season atCibola High School, Lange was named as the 2001 New Mexico PreseasonState Player of the Year and rated among the top 50 players on the Westcoast by West Coast Cage Report.

As a junior, Lange averaged 18.9 points and pulled down 9.2 rebounds pergame, en route to being named to the all-city, all-district andall-state teams. During that same year, Lange captained his team to theDistrict V-AAAA championship.

All the accolades aside, Jenkins is primarily attracted to Lange’s lovefor the game.”What I really like about him is his enthusiasm for the game and the wayhe carries himself,” said Jenkins during an interview with the Sac StateSports Information Department. “He has all the attributes of a winner.”

Jenkins can’t wait to see Lange in the green and gold.

“I think he has the chance to be pretty special, as he gets older,”Jenkins said. “Right now he has the chance to be player of the year inthe state.”

Cravey, who will enroll at Sac State as a junior next fall, comes to thecapital city by way of Sierra Junior College, where he was named to thefirst team All-Bay Valley East Conference as a freshman.

“He reminds me a little bit of Toni Kukoc (of the Atlanta Hawks) becausehe can do so many things with the basketball,” Jenkins said of Cravey,who is expected to play the two, three and four positions for theHornets. “With his height (6 ft. 7 in.), he?ll cause a lot of match-upproblems for the teams in the Big Sky Conference.”

During his phenomenal freshman campaign, Cravey ranked third in theconference in scoring, averaging 18.5 points and 7.9 rebounds a game. Onfive separate occasions Cravey eclipsed the 30-point barrier and, justrecently, set the school record for single game scoring when he netted42 points.

“He’s going to play the two, three and four,” Jenkins said. “I’m goingto put him all over cause he’s a scorer.”

There’s no question he can score, but what makes him special is hisefficiency from the floor.

Last season the Hornets ranked last in the Big Sky in field goalpercentage, three-point field goal percentage and also suffered greatlyfrom the free-throw line. Cravey boasts a .473 shooting percentage fromthe floor, including .389 from the three-point arc and .799 from thecharity stripe.

Although his percentages were registered during his freshman season atSierra, they are reason to believe the Hornets’ shooting woes are on theupswing.

While they are among the most highly touted recruits ever signed by themen’s basketball program, Jenkins is quick to point out that both Langeand Cravey are good, but not great; at least not just yet.

“I don’t know about that but I’ll tell you this: I got some very, verygood kids,” Jenkins said. “Every recruit I bring in has the chance to bepretty good. We’ve just got to see how fast they gel.”