Putting on an Oregon uniform, seeing your name stitched on the back and playing basketball at the historic McArthur Court means a lot for any player.
For Adrian Stelly, a walk-on who worked with the McArthur Court maintenance crew two years ago moving baskets and sweeping floors, it’s a thrill.
“When I first got my jersey, I looked at the back where my name was stitched on and smiled,” Stelly said. “It was real nice to see that.”
While the sophomore hasn’t seen more than 10 minutes on the court or scored a single point in his two years with the team, his presence is felt during practice.
“Stelly gives me fits every time in practice,” starting point guard Aaron Brooks said. “He comes in and makes guys work real hard, and he’s a great player.
“I think he’s the No. 1 walk-on in the country.”
Teammate and fellow Portland Interscholastic League grad Brandon Lincoln said the effort Stelly brings on the court keeps the team honest when preparing for an opponent.
“He keeps us accountable on walk-throughs and scout teams,” the Jefferson graduate said. “He is constantly harassing the ball in practice and plays tenacious defense. He brings a lot of energy and is a pest on defense, always reaching and making sure we are keeping a good hold of the ball.”
While Stelly currently lives in Eugene, his story begins halfway around the world in Italy.
Stelly was born in Naples, where his father, George, worked with computers for the military. His family lived in Italy for two years before relocating to Portland.
His parents divorced soon after, and he went to live with his mother. When she later met Troy Berry, then an assistant coach at Benson High School, Stelly got seriously into basketball for the first time.
“While (Berry) was coaching at Benson, I was a ball boy there,” Stelly said. “That is how me and Brandon (Lincoln) know each other. Back then, his brother played for Benson, and we used to hang out when we were little.”
Even with all his connections, Stelly got a late start into organized basketball.
“In middle school, I wanted to play on a team, but our school was so small we didn’t have one,” Stelly said. “There really wasn’t an opportunity for me to play, so when that opportunity arose, I took it.”
That opportunity arrived at one of the best high school basketball programs in the state. He played on the Benson freshman team his first year, the junior-varsity team his sophomore year, and he split time between the JV and varsity teams his junior year. That season he was voted the varsity team’s most improved player.
The problem for Stelly was that Benson had great players ahead of him, such as J.R. Moore, who now plays at Rhode Island, and Darren Cooper, who now plays at the University of Portland.
Don Emery, former Benson head coach and current athletic director at De La Salle North Catholic High School, said Stelly understood his role on the team.
“In high school, he was never a star player,” Emery said. “He was a hard worker and has always been able to play
a role. That’s what coaches like
to see.”
Emery said Stelly didn’t start a game in high school but showed what he could do when he had time on the floor, especially in his senior season. For the second year in a row, Stelly was named the team’s most improved player.
Stelly said getting playing time with the highly ranked Benson basketball program was tough.
“Practice was more competitive than any of our games, besides the Jefferson games,” Stelly said. “Everybody was going at each other, and coach would say whoever wins would start.”
Those experiences helped Stelly as he was deciding to come to Oregon. He felt the educational experience gained at Oregon outweighed going to a smaller school to
play basketball.
He was part of a work study program his freshman year at the University when he decided to take the maintenance crew job. Stelly said he really didn’t do much at the arena.
“The people here are pretty cool,” Stelly said. “I really just hung out and walked around for a couple hours. It was cool to see the players, and when no one was (at Mac Court), I would come in and shoot.”
Spring term of his freshman year, Stelly caught wind of a tryout for a walk-on spot on the men’s team and felt he had nothing to lose.
In fall term of his academic sophomore year, Stelly received a call from the coaching staff saying he was on the team and that he needed to talk to head coach Ernie Kent.
“He explained how it would work and how it wouldn’t call for big minutes or media attention,” Stelly said. “But he told me I was on the team and that I should make what I could of
the opportunity.”
He made his Oregon debut on the floor at the Papé Jam in 2002 and said he was surprisingly not nervous.
“I didn’t get a chance to get nervous,” Stelly said. “He called me in, and I was like, ‘Uh.’”
“You’re surprised once you get in the game how easy it is … because it’s just basketball.”
And that’s what this experience is about for Stelly — just basketball. Basketball is something he works hard on, but it’s just something he does while he finishes school instead of the other way around.
“I want to get into teaching and coaching,” Stelly said. “I just want to spread knowledge of not just the game, but life knowledge as well.”
