In sports, the “band of brothers” is often cited as the reason for a team’s success. The stresses of a full season can bring groups together like few other scenarios can. At season’s end, the team is bound together and nearly incapable of separation. For the Oregon Ducks men’s basketball program, there’s an advantage: two of them already have that connection in the bag.
Freshmen Jackson Shelstad and Mookie Cook have a connection that goes back to their childhood in Oregon, where the two attended games at Matthew Knight Arena and dreamt of taking the court in green. Now, that has become a reality — though perhaps not yet the dream that they anticipated.
This year in Eugene, Shelstad and Cook have been reunited as promised, but it hasn’t been rosy. In a perfect world, the two would have had the chance to grow into Oregon’s starting lineup. Instead, the two have taken drastically different paths since arriving at Matthew Knight Arena. The two have rarely spent time on the court together, largely because of Cook’s injuries, but they’ve already become important parts of the community. It’s been their relationship — built in their childhood — that could power them and their team through what’s been a difficult season.
When the Ducks entered conference play, Shelstad and Cook found themselves in a positive, albeit unforeseen situation. The former, a point guard, had led the team through non-conference play, draining a last-second 3-point shot in overtime against Michigan that would draw comparisons to former Duck Payton Pritchard. The latter, a small forward, spent conference play on the sidelines, but the 4-star prospect was poised to jump into a team that, while lacking its biggest star in the absent N’Faly Dante, looked ready to compete in a strong Pac-12 conference.
Since then, both their seasons have unraveled as Oregon’s has dissolved. Despite averaging over 30 minutes per game, Shelstad’s output has dropped off as the Ducks struggled through conference play and Cook has remained sidelined with a series of nagging injuries. Neither has been able to take full advantage of their promise yet — and that goal is something that’s been set for years.
In the age of lucrative NIL deals that lure players away from home, keeping premier talent in-state is an important goal for Oregon and head coach Dana Altman, but ensuring that those players believe in the Ducks from the start is valuable, too. Shelstad and Cook are the start of that, and they’ll likely form the base of the program moving forward alongside freshman forward Kwame Evans Jr.
“We had recruited Jackson since 8th grade and Mookie since he was in 8th grade,” Altman said. “Those are your in-state guys that we’re going to take if we can get them.”
Shelstad and Cook played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball together in Oregon, and in Shelstad’s words, “We’ve been best friends since we were little.” As two of the premier prospects in Oregon, their signing was a huge get for Altman and the Ducks.
Fans saw the new recruits earlier than Altman intended. After Oregon’s win over Oregon State on Feb. 17, the head coach commented on the outsized minutes that his freshman guard faced this season. He didn’t anticipate that he’d play as much as he has.
“If I made a misjudgment, it’s that we have to depend on [Shelstad] too much,” Altman said. But the minutes he has played have been influential. He’s in a category only occupied by himself: in the top three for minutes played, points, field goals and assists on the team.
Shelstad has become Oregon’s rising star, but forced to spend over half an hour on the court each night, he’s struggled with the weight of the program on his shoulders. Compelled to lead a team missing its stars as a freshman, it’s realistic that too much has been asked of him. Meanwhile, Cook has waited in the wings for his debut, but his repeated injury issues have kept him sidelined bar five January appearances. It’s not the dream for the highly touted prospect, but the promise of a starting spot down the line will likely keep him in Eugene past this offseason.
However, even in a frustrating season, the two have begun to give back to the community that raised them. The two will host and lead the Eugene Youth Basketball Camp in March 2024 at Churchill High School, where they’ll invite young players to step into their shoes for a few days and share the skills that brought the two freshmen back to Matthew Knight Arena.
It’s a relationship that’s grown through their lives: before the season, Shelstad discussed his relationship with Cook, with whom he spent much of his childhood before the two parted ways in high school. Cook left Oregon in high school to attend AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Arizona, a decision that Shelstad says was “obviously a pro” for his friend.
Meanwhile, Shelstad remained in Oregon to attend West Linn High School, where he led the Lions to victory in the Les Schwab Invitational. “I think [staying home] benefited me,” Shelstad said. ”Especially going to play against some national schools in the invitational — if I went to a prep school, I wouldn’t have had that experience.”
Their reunion in Oregon has been short of spectacular so far, but they’ve found a home in Eugene. As has happened in many of the Ducks’ games this year, they were unable to capitalize immediately what looked like an exciting start to their careers — but the promise they bring is what keeps them going. Together, they’ll be faced with the prospect of bringing Oregon back to the NCAA tournament, a preseason goal that they haven’t yet reached.
The writing is on the wall: Oregon’s freshmen can step up, but they’ll be forced to in order to keep this program relevant. If, as it seems, the Ducks go three years without a NCAA tournament appearance, this will be an offseason filled with questions, and next season will see many of the pieces who are centerpieces in Altman’s system depart: Dante and Jermaine Couisnard among the list.
But those who remain will have an advantage. It hasn’t been an easy season, nor one filled with success. Each victory feels closer to a new handhold out of the pit than a rung on the ladder, and as they ascend, each battle has drained them. Because of that, though, they’re that much closer together — brothers in feathers.
