Two were firefighters who ran into the burning World Trade Center buildings while other people were running out. Another was working on the 97th floor of one of the Towers, in a job he had started only seven days earlier.

All three of them died on September 11. All three of them were former student-athletes -- basketball players -- at College of Staten Island. And all three of them left behind small children who won't have Father's Day gifts to purchase this year.

Terrance Aiken, Scott Davidson and Tom Hannafin were honored and remembered in a special ceremony at Staten Island in February. Their jersey numbers were retired at halftime of the Dolphins' game against Bernard M. Baruch College. It was the first time in the history of Staten Island that the institution retired jersey numbers in men's basketball. Each family was given a jersey with the player's number, and a second jersey for each player was made part of a permanent display in the school's sports and recreation center.

Dolphins head coach Tony Petosa, whose long career playing and then coaching at the college spanned those of the three former student-athletes killed, conceived and planned the remembrance ceremony.

"It's a way of saying thank you," Petosa told the Staten Island Advance. "Each kid in his own way gave of himself to the college, and we'll always consider them a part of our college family.

"We remember the way they conducted themselves both on and off the court and the major contributions they made. It's painful because I was friends with all three young men."

Heroes to their families

Terrance Aiken, 30, played for the Dolphins during the 1994-95 season, and he is remembered for his outgoing personality.

"He was just happy to be there and to be a part of the team," said Brian Gasper, a former teammate and current Staten Island assistant coach. Aiken went on to play professional basketball in the Philippines and eventually became a computer consultant. He started his new job with Marsh & McLennan in the World Trade Center on September 4, only seven days before the attacks.

Kimberly Trimingham-Aiken, Aiken's wife, said athletics was a big part of his life, as were his children, Terrese, Kanan and Andre.

"In a word, there are two things to remember about my husband: He left behind three beautiful children whom he loved very much ... and he loved basketball and he was good at it."

Scott Davidson, 33, played for the Dolphins from 1986 to 1990, and he was captain of the team that posted a 20-win season in 1989-90.

"He was very competitive, and he played with so much energy," said Petosa.

Davidson was a firefighter at Ladder Co. 118 in Brooklyn Heights, and he was a substitute teacher near his home in Brooklyn. He also was the father of Peter, 8, and Casey, 4.

His friends remember his love of Christmas -- friends on Staten Island would call him "Christmas Boy" -- and his patriotism, unusual for young people before September 11.

"He loved all things American," said a friend, Perry Seridge, to The New York Times. "I used to think it was kind of rare, especially for a young guy who had never been in a war. Looking at it now, it was nice. He'd be really happy now that everyone would have flags out."

Tom Hannafin, 36, played for the Dolphins from 1983 to 1987 alongside current coach Petosa.

"Tommy was the total package. He was one of the most controlled players I ever met," Petosa said.

Said former coach Evan Pickman of Hannafin, "Tom always stood for doing the right thing. He did everything the right way, all the time, as a teammate, student, friend, son and brother."

Hannafin was a firefighter at Ladder Co. 5 in Greenwich Village, where he also played with the fire department's basketball team. He left behind a daughter, Kayla, and a son, Thomas.

Hannafin was one of the first to arrive at the World Trade Center, where he gave his life to save the life of another.

His older brother, Kevin, a firefighter in Brooklyn, carried Tom's helmet out of Ground Zero when searchers found his body.

"It was the proudest moment of my life," Kevin Hannafin told The New York Times. "It means a lot for firefighters, in firefighter tradition, that members of their company carry them out. That day I was part of that company."

There wasn't a dry eye in the building when Staten Island presented jerseys to the former student-athletes' wives and children.

It was a fitting place to remember people who were such team players.

"I think it makes perfect sense that they died helping save other peoples' lives," offered Tom Keenan, former head coach at the college, to the Advance. "They always put the team first in their basketball careers. That's the type of kids they were."