SPOKANE, WASH. >> The point was hammered home in team meetings, during interviews, at practices, within games.

Honor your past to make your present count.

“These guys (did), and they’ll be remembered forever,” Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said after Sunday’s season-ending loss to Maryland in the NCAA Tournament. “That banner’s going to get updated. The (Big West championship) rings are getting touched up.”

He was referring to the modest men’s basketball banner hanging in the Stan Sheriff Center rafters. There are precious few NCAA appearances listed — four — but there will be a prominent addition.

Second round, 2016.

“It’s not what we wanted, but it was a good season,” said point guard Roderick Bobbitt after the 73-60 loss to the Terrapins, concluding the campaign at 28-6. “I think people will look at us differently after this and the run that we had.”

The team flew back from Spokane via NCAA charter on Monday and bused back to the Sheriff, ending a three-week odyssey. In true Ganot fashion, it was low-key; only a handful of supporters were on hand for the non-publicized return.

Throughout the season, Ganot was more concerned that his players knew about the program’s greats, coaches and players alike. Red Rocha. The Fabulous Five. Riley Wallace. The Dynamic Duo. Predrag Savovic and Carl English, the stars of the 2002 NCAA team who championed the modern edition on social media.

This group — referred to at various times as the UnforgettaBows, the ImprobaBows, and The Believers — can proudly join those ranks after notching the program’s first NCAA Tournament win, a 13 seed knocking off No. 4 California.

“It’s hard to quantify it,” Ganot said. “There’s a lot of good teams; these guys are right at the top. And then factor what they’ve had to weather.”

Some of those negative factors, the 2017 postseason ban, probation and scholarship reductions, are still in play, pending the NCAA’s decision on UH’s appeal.

The Rainbow Warriors were able to put that in perspective.

“Tough team, to come up on something big,” wing Aaron Valdes said. “Coaching staff has done a great job, we’ve got a great coaching staff here and we’ll have a great coaching staff next year. They’ll be a lot of guys (coming) in, seeing what we’ve done.”

There’s some rewards to be reaped, as well.

Every year from 2017 through 2022, UH will receive between $132,500 and $145,000 (increasing slightly each year) for the NCAA victory.

Now, what will happen with the way UH will be viewed on the national stage with the breakthrough?

According to Cal Poly coach Joe Callero, a lot in the immediate sense when it comes to pats on the back, and a fair amount down the line with boosts to recruiting and donations — but not so much in between.

“It has a delayed effect,” said Callero, whose Mustangs won a “First Four” NCAA play-in game as the 16th-seeded Big West champion in 2014.

“It’s not an immediate effect, like in the first month or two,” he said. “It’s not like you feel like there’s a tremendous surge in donations, or a tremendous surge in recruiting. It’s a little bit of an echo; it takes three months to a year to feel the positive effects of it.”

Still, Callero congratulated UH on the victory, noting the reasonable 13 seed and West Coast location were positive factors toward the outcome. UH was the first Big West team to reach the round of 32 since Pacific in 2005.

“It’s awesome, great for the conference,” Callero said.

While members of the UH junior class — Valdes, Stefan Jankovic, Stefan Jovanovic and Mike Thomas — still have decisions to make on their future, it’s clear the group will look back fondly on what it accomplished in 2015-16.

“From us playing, to the coaches coaching, to the fans being here and supporting us, it’s been a ride,” Thomas said. “I think just being around the Tournament, and getting this experience has changed how people view the University of Hawaii, how we view basketball. I mean, how we live our lives. It’s crazy. It was amazing.”