LAS VEGAS – Much of Andre Adams’ view of this season has come from the bench.

After not playing for the better part of two years due to a pair of torn ACLs, that can be a bitter pill to swallow. But then there are moments like Wednesday.

Adams, who has battled bouts of knee tendinitis at various points this season, was Arizona State’s (15-17) leading contributor off the bench in Wednesday’s 98-88 overtime win over No. 9 seed Stanford (14-17) in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

He didn’t score any points in his 16 minutes of game time – freshman forward Ramon Vila had the lone two bench points – but proved his value in things that a small and undermanned ASU team has often struggled with his season.

Size, length, rebounding, depth and defense.

“We got good minutes out of Andre Adams and Ramon Vila tonight,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “It didn't result in points, but it did in post defense against Travis. Rebounding, especially Andre late in the game, I thought made some plays on defense that helped us.”

The Sun Devil bench tallied just 26 of the 225 total minutes Wednesday, but Adams brought value in matchup up against a pair of talented big men in Michael Humphrey and Reid Travis. He added five rebounds, and more than anything else, he did something he hadn’t been able to do since high school.

He contributed.

“I haven’t played this much basketball in two years,” Adams said. “Being out there again, there’s a lot of stuff that feels new to me. I’m getting out there, boxing out, rebounding, all that stuff I basically have to learn again. Being out there with my teammates, it felt great. It’s been so long, I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and now that I’m here it feels good.”

Adams has played in just 14 of 32 games this season due to ongoing pain in his knees as he works back from a pair of torn ACLs in his left knee. The redshirt freshman knows he still has to progress but feels content now that the pain is essentially gone.

“I think, just with the long season, I have to get my weight back up again, get to working out some more, getting my legs stronger again,” Adams said. “Other than that, I feel great. After practice and stuff I have to go through the routine and ice and stuff to make sure my body does stay right for the games, but overall I feel great. I’m moving pretty good. I still feel I’m slow laterally, but those are things I’m going to work on in the offseason.”

While his body is working to catch up, so is his mind. Take the normal workload of a college freshman getting used to Pac-12 basketball, then double it by adding a body that you aren’t quite sure will hold.

While Hurley has grown in his appreciation for Adams, he admits he’s still working to feel confident in his body.

“Mistakes are going to happen, adversity is going to kick in, but while I’m out there on the floor I just want to bring whatever I can to the team,” Adams said.

With Wednesday’s win, the Sun Devils are scheduled to face off next against top seed Oregon. With a variety of players with size, Adams figures to be a prominent contributor again.

All he could ask for.