Örlygur Aron Sturluson (21 May 1981 – 16 January 2000) was an Icelandic

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, who played for

Njarðvík Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400. History In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. ...

in the Icelandic

Úrvalsdeild The Besta deild karla () is a professional association football league in Iceland and the highest level of the Icelandic football league system. The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship. Because of the harsh winters in I ...

where he won the national championship in 1998. He started playing for the Icelandic national team in 1999 and was considered one of the most promising prospects in Icelandic basketball at the time of his death.

Career

Playing career

Örlygur started playing basketball at the age of 8 with

Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur (, ) is an Icelandic multi-sports club based in Njarðvík, Reykjanesbær, on the south-west peninsula of Iceland. It is primarily known for its men's basketball team which has won the national championship 17 times. ...

. He broke into the starting lineup of Úrvalsdeild powerhouse

in 1997 at the age of 16. His first game came against ÍA where he had 10 points and 7 assists. He was a key player in Njarðvík's 1998 Icelandic championship run, averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 assists in the three game sweep of KR in the finals, including a 20 points, 9 assists and 6 steals performance in game two of the series. Örlygur spent the 1998-1999 season playing for Charlotte Christian Knights under coach Bobby Jones where he set the school single season record for assists and steals. He rejoined Njarðvík in the summer of 1999 while also playing for ÍRB, a joint team of Njarðvík and

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

in the

Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people * Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player * Vitomir ...

. He helped the joint ÍRB team to advance to the second round of the Korać Cup before bowing out while also helping Njarðvík achieve a 10-3 record in the Úrvalsdeild before the all star break. He was selected for the 2000 Icelandic All-Star game, scoring seven points in what would prove to be his last game.

National team career

Örlygur played three games with the Icelandic men's national basketball team and five games for the U21 national team in 1999. He had previously played for the junior national teams.

Death

Örlygur died in the early morning of January 16, 2000, after an accidental fall.

Family

Örlygur was the son of Særún Lúðvíksdóttir and former Icelandic national team player Sturla Örlygsson, and the brother of women's national team player

Margrét Kara Sturludóttir Margrét Kara Sturludóttir (born 2 September 1989) is an Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of the Icelandic national basketball team. She won the Icelandic championship in 2008 and 2010 and was named the Úrvalsdeild Dome ...

and Úrvalsdeild karla player Sigurður Dagur Sturluson. He was also nephew of former Úrvalsdeild karla players

Teitur Örlygsson Teitur Örlygsson (born 9 January 1967) is an Icelandic former professional basketball player and a coach. During his career he won the Icelandic national championships ten times with Njarðvík and the Icelandic Basketball Cup seven times. He ...

, who won the Icelandic championship a record 10 times, Gunnar Örn Örlygsson, a former Althing member, and Stefán Örlygsson.

Popular culture

*''Ölli'' is a 2013 documentary by Garðar Örn Arnarson about Örlygur's life and basketball career. Ölli was the nickname that Örlygur commonly went by.

References

External links

Örlygur Sturluson Úrvalsdeild statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturluson, Örlygur Aron 1982 births 2000 deaths Charlotte Christian School alumni Örlygur Aron Sturluson Örlygur Aron Sturluson Örlygur Aron Sturluson Point guards Örlygur Aron Sturluson Örlygur Aron Sturluson