FORT COLLINS — Ali Farokhmanesh’s only regret came when he saw the teams he put together actually take the floor.

“We should not have put Kyle (Jorgensen) and (Isaiah Stevens) on the same team,” Farokhmanesh said. “I regret that decision because it’s just trash talk the whole game.”

Everything else, though, was gravy. The second-year Colorado State coach got to see a handful of Rams alumni return to campus and work out with his current team near the end of a summer of workouts.

“It’s awesome,” Farokhmanesh said. “It’s fun for them to come back. It’s nice having them back to influence the young guys. That’s one of the biggest things. You watch Isaiah talking (smack) out here, you see how hard Joel (Scott) plays, Josiah (Strong), J.D. (Paige) — all these guys bring something to the table that’s different and I think it affects how the guys see it. It’s everything you preach from a coaching standpoint, but when they live it out, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to preach those things.”

Whether it’s Nique Clifford entering his second year in the NBA, Stevens who has spent multiple years in the NBA or former Rams playing overseas in Europe, there are plenty of examples of the growth the CSU program has made in the last handful of years under Niko Medved and now Farokhmanesh.

Stevens remembers Davis and maybe one or two other former players making their way to Fort Collins in the early part of his college career. 

Now, it’s a part of the summer he and his former teammates look forward to every year.

“Man, it’s fun. It truly does feel like a family,” Stevens said. “This is my third year coming back since I left. I actually look forward to it coming out of (Las) Vegas Summer League, especially when you’re out there for as long as we are. You kinda get a breath of fresh air, get around some family, some people that you love and care about. I’m just happy to be back.

“For guys to make the effort these last couple years to come back and spend a couple days, I think that’s truly special.”

It’s not something the current players take for granted, either. And it’s a reason the current roster was able to retain the majority of its production from last year’s team, which won more than 20 games and reached the NIT.

“There’s a reason why I love it out here and I think you can see it (today),” Jorgensen said. “There’s not too many programs that have this many guys come back, especially for a new coach. When people ask me why I come back (to CSU), this is part of it, just the family aspect. Obviously, I’m grateful to get to play with some of those legends back here. They meant a lot to me my freshman year.”

Stevens is always going to be an example used to show the current crop of Rams guards what it takes to make an impact. He wants them to know, as someone who spent five years in the program, that CSU is a place where you become a pro after college, something even he was reminded of as he got back on the court with his old Rams teammates.

“You don’t always recognize it until you all get back in one space,” Stevens said. “Guys are playing some high-level basketball and were able to use Colorado State as a launching pad (for) the rest of their careers. I think it just shows for the guys that are here now, you can use Colorado State to get to any level that you dream of. Anything is possible from here.”

That wasn’t the only reminder late last month that CSU is a program on the rise. The new court inside Moby Arena was finished with a fresh Pac-12 logo. Then, it was learned the Rams would be playing powerhouse Arizona in their first game at the prestigious Maui Invitational.

“The Mountain West was amazing. From a basketball standpoint, it was a top-six league in the country basically since the day we stepped on campus (in 2018) with Niko,” Farokhmanesh said. “The Pac-12 now, when you add a Gonzaga to it, your ceiling just explodes and our floor is so much higher, too. I think that’s the biggest difference. We don’t have any land mine games where if you lose that, your whole season falls apart. 

“Every game is gonna be a battle and when you have those opportunities (against) a Gonzaga, a San Diego State, it also allows you to play better nonconference games.”

Those difficult nonconference games in Maui and beyond will come in a few months’ time. But for a few days in late July, Farokhmanesh was happy to be reminded of why he wanted CSU to be his first head-coaching job and why he wants to keep reaching heights the Rams only once dreamed of reaching.

“I think the way that basketball is viewed here, the way it’s supported in the community, you couldn’t ask for a better crowd or a better environment,” Farokhmanesh said. “The amount of people you go out and talk to, I think that’s what makes this place special. These guys come back, not just because of CSU or what we do basketball-wise, it’s because of the community that’s built around the program, too, and they love being in Fort Collins.”