Another Shelton seeks to make his mark at Oregon State
Tim Shelton, flanked by freshmen Jaydon Stevens (left) and Michael Rataj (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Updated 2/21/2023 1:40 PM
CORVALLIS — The name “Shelton” means something in this city.
It didn’t take Tim Shelton long to find that out.
“My first visit to Corvallis was just after last year’s Final Four,” says the first-year Oregon State basketball assistant coach. “When I was being given the tour around town, I met many people who were familiar with my Dad, and they would share a story.”
Shelton’s father was Lonnie Shelton, a legendary sports figure who died in 2018 following a heart attack at age 62.
Lonnie Shelton might have been the greatest athlete ever to play basketball for Oregon State
“It felt good to know people had heart-warming memories about him,” the junior Shelton says. “What I’m seeking to do is help this next generation have some heartwarming memories about the Beavers through my impact.”
Lonnie Shelton was a 6-8, 260-pound manchild who arrived on the Oregon State campus in 1973. Beaver fans remember him as a buffed, athletic power forward who averaged 16.2 points and 6.1 rebounds through three seasons playing for Ralph Miller.
(Following is a story I wrote for the Portland Tribune on Lonnie after his death.)
Lonnie would go on to enjoy a 10-year NBA career, starting at power forward for the Seattle SuperSonics’ NBA championship team of 1978-79. He would have five sons from three relationships. The oldest, L.J., played 10 years as an offensive tackle in the NFL. The next three would play Division I basketball — Marlon at Washington, Titus at Cal Poly and Tim at San Diego State.
Father Lonnie Shelton’s legacy at Oregon State was a drawing card for his son to want to coach there (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Tim’s mother, Cathy Shelton, was the second of Lonnie’s two wives. She was also the mother of Titus, a year and a half older than Tim. Titus and Tim lived together through their childhood; they didn’t know L.J. and Marlon well. “Different wives; different phases of life,” Tim says.
Most of Tim’s formative years were spent living with his mother in Sacramento. He lived twice with his father in Bakersfield — once in fourth and fifth grade, then for about a year before high school.
“When I was living with Mom, my dad would visit me, or I’d visit him,” Tim says. “A couple of times I spent the summer with him. He was a kind, soft-spoken person. I learned a lot more about the athletic side of him as I got into high school. Mom would tell me stories about how hard he would train, what he would do in the relentless pursuit of getting better and being the ultimate competitor.”
Tim, who would grow to 6-6 and 240 pounds at San Diego State, took a quick stab at football in high school.
Tim Shelton says his first season coaching at Oregon State “has been even better than I anticipated.” (courtesy OSU sports communications)
“I played for about a day and a half as a freshman,” he says with a laugh. “They wanted me to try out and see what I looked like pads. They liked what they saw, but I didn’t like it as much as I did basketball.”
Tim, 33, was aware of his father’s accomplishments in basketball, but the greater influence was his mother.
“She was always encouraging,” Tim says. “She always gave Titus and me confidence that it was in our DNA to compete and be special as basketball players.”
Tim was an effective player through five seasons at San Diego State, starting 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2008-09 and then 30 games as a senior in 2011-12. But his career was hampered by a pair of knee injuries that robbed him of some athleticism.
“When I started college, I wanted to go and play in the NBA,” he says. “After the injuries, I was fortunate to play through it well enough to be a starter, win a Mountain West championship and go to the NCAA Tournament as a senior.”
Shelton played his sophomore and junior campaigns with Kawhi Leonard, who led the Aztecs to a 34-3 record, a share of the conference title and the Sweet Sixteen in 2010-11.
“I learned to work harder when I met Kawhi,” Shelton says. “He was a guy who was obsessive in the gym, about doing what it takes to get better.”
During his redshirt senior season under coach Steve Fisher, Shelton got his first year of grad school paid for.
“After finishing up and deciding to not play pro ball, that staff was so encouraging,” he says. “They said, ‘We’re going to pay for that last year (of grad school). We’d love to keep you around.’ ”
Shelton spend the summer after his senior year as a career counselor at San Diego State, then got a video coordinator job in the fall. He was in that position for four years, spending time also in player development. He came out of it with a Masters degree in educational leadership and a world of experience in basketball.
“That was my first taste of, ‘This is what life is to help prepare other people to play,’ ” he says. “As a player, I had a good feel for the game, but the video coordinator job made me feel like I had been a lazy player, like I didn’t dive into (video) enough. There is so much value in (video). It does not lie. It’s such a powerful tool. “That’s what taught me the Xs and Os, what philosophy was, how to use players to their strengths, and how you get to your certain play styles throughout the year. That was fun. Prepping for every opponent and studying what they do, what adjustments they make — that was good for me.”
In 2017, Brian Dutcher took over for Fisher and hired Shelton as an assistant coach.
“I really enjoyed it,” He says. “The process is fun. Helping young men become men is fun and challenging. Recruiting is fun. With my personality, I was usually the guy hosting the recruits. If the kid came on campus, I met his family and went to dinner with them. I was a good spokesperson and good example of not necessarily the accolades (as a player), but what you hope your son would grow up to be and how he would carry himself after college.”
Aztec assistant Justin Hutson got the Fresno State head job the next year and brought Shelton with him. Shelton coached there for four years. One of the draws was that Fresno is a two-hour drive from Bakersfield, where his father was living. Alas, Lonnie died five months after Tim arrived in Fresno.
“That was hard,” Tim says. “I didn’t get to spend the time I was planning to with him.”
Last summer, Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle shook up his staff, letting veteran assistant Kerry Rupp go and moving Stephen Thompson to an administrative role. Tinkle hired one-time University of Portland head coach Eric Reveno to fill Rupp’s spot and Shelton to replace Thompson.
Head coach Wayne Tinkle (back to camera) says Shelton has “a good read on me and when to approach me with an idea.” (courtesy OSU sports communications)
Tinkle had met Shelton at spring and summer AAU tournaments while he was working at San Diego State and Fresno State.
“You’re always keeping a mental list of guys in case you have movement on your staff,” Tinkle says. “Tim impressed me with his demeanor. He was always very professional, carried himself the right way. He was part of a great coaching tree with Steve Fisher. I wanted a defensive-minded young guy. Tim was the only person I reached out to for the position.”
There is little doubt that Lonnie Shelton’s experience at Oregon State played a role in Shelton wanting to work there.
“Tim told me that, growing up, he had always wanted to play at Oregon State,” Tinkle says.
“This has always been a special place for me, even before I got to come here,” Shelton says. “A lot because of the stories my Dad share about this place and how it made him feel. When he spoke about Corvallis and Oregon State and being a Beaver, it was about people, the friendships he made, how people treated him. It was about how he became a young man. Besides that, they won. That helps.
“Then he had an opportunity to play in the NBA and make some money. Any time you can help a program and give yourself an opportunity to do what you want to do, that’s icing on the cake.”
Shelton had never been to Corvallis before his visit last spring.
“That’s what made it feel even more special,” he says. “All the feelings I had before I got here were matched and then some. The way this place feels, the beauty of this campus, the people here — it’s been great.”
The Pac-12 Conference was a lure, too.
“As a young assistant, after I first got my Mountain West assistant position, I would have friends tell me, ‘You’re on your way to becoming a Pac-12 coach,’ ” Shelton says. “It had always been in the back of my mind. You talk to your mentors, it should be a goal you have.”
Shelton says his relationship with Tinkle is “fantastic.”
“Coach Tinkle has a great feel for the room, for recognizing how guys are feeling and not beating them down but also not babying them,” he says. “That’s hard nowadays. He’s a people person, a players’ coach. He has a great balance to him and a great basketball mind.”
Shelton says he has glad he has played under and coached with different personalities.
“Coach Fisher was a John Woodenesque type dude,” he says. “Coach Dutcher has some of that, but he is his own person with a different type of leadership style. Coach Hutson is stern every single day, very tough. He will make you have a thicker skin right away.
“With Coach Tinkle, there is a balance, with a philosophy behind it. I like the way he makes everyone in the office feel every single day. He challenges us every day. He challenges our guys. It is even better than I could have anticipated. That’s what makes it so exciting and so motivating to go to work every day.”
Shelton has spent more time with the Beaver post players than wings or guards, “but I spend individual player and skill development time with all of them,” he says. “I like working with everybody. It’s, ‘Here is what is going to help you make the next level, and is also going to translate right away.’ ”
Shelton has developed a rapport with the players.
“Love coach Shelton,” sophomore forward Glenn Taylor says. “He brings it each and every day. You can tell he loves the game. He is in here with guys throughout the day. Whenever you call him, he is there. He cares about us and our development in the game. He was a perfect guy for the position. I am grateful coach Tinkle allowed him to be here with us.”
Tinkle has appreciated Shelton’s presence, too.
“Tim brings the intensity and the energy we need,” says Tinkle, in his ninth year as OSU’s head coach. “He is responsible for that focus. He is our defensive coordinator. He is a no-nonsense guy. During games, he is not an emotional guy. Never gets too high or too low. Before we go to players during timeouts, he tells me what he sees. He has a good read on me and when to approach me with an idea.”
Shelton is pleased but not satisfied with the Beavers’ record after a 3-28 campaign the season before he arrived.
“I understood what we were trying to do in terms of how to shift our culture and what direction we wanted to head with this young group,” he says. “You wish the record were better, but when you watch practice and see how the guys respond and how they interact with you (while watching video), that they can demonstrate understanding more. … that’s encouraging.
“When you start to see that growth, that’s the part where you know you’ve got something here. There are challenges in recruiting, but we feel like we have a good core group. This has been the perfect time for me to come in with them.”
Does Shelton have aspirations of becoming a head coach one day?
“Absolutely,” he says. “You want to continue to learn and gather information from your experiences, your mentors and apply that to your own job. Right now, I am trying to be the head coach of where I am at in terms of what my role is here at Oregon State. That is, helping us recruit and giving these young men guidance on what they need to do to help this team.”
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