The San Francisco State men's basketball team is doing something it hasn't done in more than two decades: Playing in a postseason tournament.
It's been 23 years to be exact since March Madness was mentioned in the same sentence with SFSU. The Gators, sporting a 25-5 record, are headed to the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Starting center AJ Kahlon vaguely remembers where he was the last time SFSU played in the tournament.
"I was in my crib, playing with the toys that my mom and dad probably gave me," Kahlon said. "I had no idea what was going on around me."
Coach Paul Trevor was coaching at Drake High School 23 years ago. He too has no recollection of SFSU basketball.
"No idea about the Gators," he said. "I didn't even know who played for the Gators at that time. So it's amazing what we've done, and kind of brought it back."
What Trevor has done in his seventh season is bring the basketball program out of hibernation. The Gators are still reveling in the fact that after all these years, they're dancing.
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"We broke down that wall, so we were pretty excited about that," Trevor said.
"Euphoric," Kahlon said. "It was like a really crazy sense of euphoria."
While they're enjoying the moment of earning a postseason berth, the Gators feel their depth gives them a good chance of advancing in the tournament.
"We've got guys that come off the bench and score, guys that come off the bench and play defense, guys who can rebound," guard Coley Apsay said. "So, I think that if we stay focused, we can do anything we put our minds to."
"Everybody else in the country going into this tournament has acknowledged us as an elite team, so we feel like we can compete with anybody," Kahlon said.
Trevor said it's a return to a culture of winning, and he added SFSU is going into the tournament to win it.
The Gators take on Cal Baptist when the West Regional begins in San Diego on Friday.
