Oregon Ducks vs. Army Black Knights

Oregon Ducks senior Charlie Noebel is the lone walk-on for a team that returned four starters from last year's Elite Eight squad.

(Photo by Serena Morones for The Oregonian/OregonLive)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Outside of the Oregon locker room on the eve of the Elite Eight, a bunch of basketball players who probably envisioned being in this moment, on the doorstep of the Final Four, gathered in interview booths.

Players like Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey and others, all who were great and coveted high school prospects with national championship aspirations, tried to describe the moment as dozens of media members assembled in front of them.

It's the second year in a row the Ducks have gone this far, and instead of wide eyes, the stars of the Ducks presented a unified front.

Getting here last year was something special, the message rang out. That won't be good enough now, as they prepare to face Kansas on Saturday.

Inside of Oregon's locker room, away from all of that, Charlie Noebel felt the same. The Elite Eight is great. The Final Four would be better.

But in truth, the Oregon senior, the one who has become a fan favorite in Eugene, had to marvel at all that's happened to him since he walked on three seasons ago.

He thought about the three-pointer he hit in January against Oregon State, the one that came a day after his grandmother had a stroke. His dad told him before the game that if he got a chance to shoot, shoot. He did that night, draining the second shot of his career and his first inside Matthew Knight Arena.

The crowd went nuts. That was special.

More so, it was improbable. Three years ago, walking on to the basketball team was on Noebel's mind. A phone call changed that.

Noebel's mom, Jane, fell sick over Thanksgiving 2013. They thought it might have been kidney stones.

It wasn't.

Jane had cancer and didn't have much time left.

Noebel was on a flight home the next day, pulling out of school during winter term and moving back to Irvine, California. He took a job as a cashier at a Wahoo's taco restaurant and spent as much time as possible with his mom.

Four months later, she was gone.

But before Jane died at the age of 54, she and Charlie had a talk about basketball at the hospital. She always loved watching Noebel play, first on the JV team at Mater Dei and then finally on varsity. Noebel laughs thinking about the time she showed up for a dunk competition at a pep rally unannounced.

"She was up top recording it," Noebel said. "You could hear here going, 'Yeah, go Charlie!' It was pretty great."

Everyone in the Noebel family thought his high school team's 50-45 win over Archbishop Mitty in the state title game was it for his competitive career. He would go on to Oregon, probably play intramurals, and get his degree.

Noebel had other ideas, though, and got in touch with Oregon's staff once he arrived in Eugene. Maybe if they saw him play he'd find a way to walk on his sophomore year. Those talks stalled when Noebel went home. But one day in the hospital, he mentioned it to Jane.

"It was a funny moment," Noebel remembers. "She was like, 'Yeah, do what you want. You've been playing your whole life. If you want to try for it, go for it.' She probably thought it was a joke.

"That just kind of motivated me."

Jane died on March 13, 2014, and Noebel went back to Oregon several weeks later, re-enrolling for spring term with a new goal of making the basketball team. He was one of five players who walked on for the 2014-15 season, a year that saw the Ducks return just three players on scholarship. Picked to finish eighth in the Pac-12 that season, the Ducks finished second, made the NCAA Tournament and beat Oklahoma State in the first round.

A year later, the walk-on numbers dipped to three, Noebel hit the first basket of his career and the Ducks advanced to the Elite Eight.

Now, Noebel is the only walk-on here in Kansas City, on a roster that returned four starters from last year's Elite Eight squad.

Oregon coach Dana Altman said he was aware of Jane's passing when Noebel returned to school, but wanted to make something clear on Friday: There's a reason why Noebel has been to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

"He earned it," Altman said. "I wouldn't have kept him on that first year if I didn't feel like he was helping the team."

Entering his final week with the Ducks, Noebel has played 53 minutes in his career. He's hit two three-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and become an unlikely favorite of the Oregon student section, which cheered his name relentlessly during Ducks blowouts this season, begging Altman to put him in the game.

Noebel didn't expect any of this. He didn't expect a spot on a team, he didn't expect to hit a three-pointer for his now-healthy grandma, and he certainly didn't expect to turn his family into Oregon basketball fans.

But now that all of that has happened, Noebel gives some of the credit to his mom.

"She would be very proud, that's for sure," Noebel said. "We never expected any of this. I'm sure she's proud and rooting for the Ducks every day."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger