Feeling somewhat dissatisfied following his team’s 82-60 semifinal round loss to Weber State, Sacramento State head men’s basketball coach Jerome Jenkins was quick to ready the program for next season.

But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have time to enjoy the groundbreaking year. Two days after the loss to the Wildcats, Jenkins strutted the halls outside of his office with a certain self-confidence that would reveal to anyone that something big was coming. The scowl he had worn out all season long was now replaced with a grin that personified the vast leap his program has taken in just a year’s time.

There was pride.

For those precious moments during the season, Sacramento State was truly a basketball school. Fans, students and alumni had never felt so proud of their program’s performance.

“That was our goal from the start,” Jenkins said. “For the program to have camaraderie among the students and the players, and for everyone to have that feeling that this is our team.”

The Hornets are making fans out of their skeptics and proving, for the first time in their 12-year Div. I history, they are, and will continue to be, competitive.

“So many people said I couldn’t get to this point,” the third-year head coach said. “And by all means I am not finished. I feel that we are just getting started as a program.”

After beating Montana State and putting the Hornets into the playoffs for the first time, Jenkins’ emotional breakdown illustrated the team’s memorable season. As he wiped the tears from his eyes, he relinquished the adversity the program has faced for its Div. I history.

Injuries and ineligibilities blurred the onset of the season, but it was senior Derek Lambeth who told his head coach not to worry about it; they’d still reach their team goal of playoffs.

And it was Lambeth who resembled Sac State’s own version of Michael Jordan — not only did he come up clutch in big games, but he refused to say goodbye to his collegiate career. Lambeth averaged over 18.6 points in each one of his “this could be my last” games.

Not to be forgotten, though, was the play of seniors Raashad Hooks and Jimmy White, who each carried the team on their shoulders at times throughout the season. The seniors will be sorely missed, but their presence will be felt for years to come.

Jenkins compares Hooks’ grooming of freshman point guard DaShawn Freeman to that of the passing of the torch from 49ers’ quarterback Joe Montana to Steve Young. He feels that for the first time, his seniors did what they were supposed to do by molding the younger players.

The seniors’ investment in the program will be evident in terms of success for next year’s team.

Next season’s team will benefit from their maturing younger players, but also from the additions this past season’s ineligible stars and incoming freshmen.

Senior Joel Jones, who used his option to redshirt after being announced academically ineligible this fall, just might be the first Hornet basketball player to be drafted to the NBA.

“We’ll run the triple-post offense, use a lot of motion and spread the floor,” Jenkins said. “We’ll have better ball handlers next year who will be better able to attack. We will look to up our team scoring average and get back to being one of the top scoring teams in the conference, as we were a couple of seasons ago.”

The Hornets missed the NCAA Tournament by just two games, and missed playing on national television in the Big Sky Tournament’s championship game by just one game.

“We got a taste of it, so now the guys are boiling to get back,” Jenkins said. “That’s the sensation I’ve wanted the guys to have.”

The 2002-03 Hornets have set the stage for all future teams. The season was a shot in the arm for recruiting, a boost towards building a new gym, and a shove into respectability.

What transpired over the course of the season could be remembered as Sac State’s shift to prominence, but if next year’s team fails, all will be forgotten.

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