Members of the Sacramento State Hornet 1961-62 men’s basketball team were inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame on Thursday.

The former players passed under gold and green balloons at the Alumni Center while the current Sac State cheerleaders gave a shout out for the team.

“They should have received this honor a long time ago,” said current coach Brian Katz.

Former player Howard Thomas said that sometimes the story gets better each time it is told as you age.

“Even though it’s wonderful to be acknowledged, now my family knows I wasn’t a superstar. I wasn’t even a star, just a basketball player,” Thomas said.

Bill Whitaker, a center for the 61-62 team, said he remembered the game they played against Cal Poly, Pomona which sent them to the championships.

“We were down by 13 points at half-time. Then we came back and kicked their ass,” Whitaker said.

Before introducing the players individually, Katz talked about coach Everett Shelton, who took the team to the finals.

John Shelton, coach Shelton’s son accepted the award in his honor. In his memory, the plaque will be placed in the newly remodeled Everett Shelton locker room.

Randy Adams, senior psychology major, center for the 2008 team, said it was a great honor to meet the team and hear them recount what it was like playing basketball back in 1962.

Sally King can be reached at [email protected]