Cleaning shipping containers for a company near the Port of Seattle, then 18-year-old Brandon Roy wondered if he’d ever be eligible to play college basketball at Washington.

“The doubt definitely crept in my mind,” Roy said yesterday. “A lot of my friends were in college playing football and basketball. I wasn’t jealous, but at the same time I thought, ‘I’m not even going to get that chance.’”

Oh, how he got that chance.

Four years at the UW yielded three NCAA Tournament appearances for Roy’s Huskies, as he capped his illustrious career with Pac-10 player of the year and first-team All-America honors as a senior.

And last night, the school recognized Roy with an even more distinct honor, raising his No. 3 jersey to the north side of the Hec Edmundson Pavilion rafters to make him just the second player in school history to have his number retired.

The No. 25 jersey of former UW great Bob Houbregs is the only other to receive such a tribute.

“Never,” Roy said, asked if he’d ever imagined this day would come. “When I was here I would dream of making big shots to help us win or I would dream of winning a national championship. But I felt like my jersey being retired … it just never crossed my mind.”

Roy’s shirt was immortalized in a ceremony prior to UW’s 78-73 win over USC last night, Roy addressing the crowd briefly before leaving to a deafening ovation.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar seemed almost in awe of Roy’s accomplishments, particularly the way he’s handled himself off the court.

“I watched him go through that, him and his family,” Romar said. “All the memories, you go back and remember and realize it’s a pretty special young man we had in our presence for four years.”

Last night’s contest was the first game Roy had attended at Hec Ed in person since his playing days due to the busy schedule of an NBA season.

But he says he still keeps in contact with his former teammates, as well as some current Huskies. Among those he talks to on a regular basis is Isaiah Thomas, who said earlier this season that he and Roy text back and forth frequently.

“I probably talk to him the most because he’s such a good kid,” Roy said. “He’s just that guy that’s always around. He’s just such a good dude. I talk to him, give him advice here and there. His ears are open and his eyes are big. He just wants to learn more.”

Roy, in his third year in the NBA, is the league’s eighth-leading scorer and will likely be named to his second All-Star team this season. But he says nothing can compare to having his jersey hoisted next to Houbregs’.

“I’ve been through a lot of good things lately, as far as All-Star and Rookie of the Year,” Roy said. “But when [Romar] said [Roy’s jersey was being retired], that was a special moment. Because I’m thinking, ‘Man for 100 years after me, that jersey will be up there.’”

He’s long removed from his days cleaning shipping containers. But he still remembers the sage advice given to him by his co-workers, who told him, “There’s nothing wrong with what we do. But if you can do something better you should definitely do it. This is nobody’s dream and you have a chance to live out yours, so go for it.”

Reach reporter Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.