College Commitment – Evan Otten (2023 Redmond)
This spring, Evan Otten bet on himself – and it’s paid off. Way back in the fall, the hard-working 6-foot-10 post from Redmond became the first member of the Class of 2023 to commit to a school when he signed…
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Continue ReadingThis spring, Evan Otten bet on himself – and it’s paid off. Way back in the fall, the hard-working 6-foot-10 post from Redmond became the first member of the Class of 2023 to commit to a school when he signed with OIT. Nothing changed with that commitment until the past few weeks. There were whispers about Otten’s status, and the noises became louder. The big man decided he’d decommit and see if he could find something at college basketball highest level – and he has after signing to play his college basketball at Idaho State.
“I visited this past weekend and loved it,” Otten said. “The facilities were all very nice and impressive and the campus wasn’t overly big. It had a nice balance between outdoors and decent sized city. The coaches were awesome and expressed their vision for me and I fell in love.”
After Otten had initially decommitted, schools like Seattle Pacific and Point Loma showed interest and he also made a visit to Montana State. Portland State offered a preferred walk-on spot. So when Idaho State offered him a scholarship, it didn’t take long for Otten to know it was the right place for him, especially when it came to their vision for him.
“Their vision for me is to learn from their all conference big man and eventually become a dominant 4/5 that has an expanded game to both play in the paint and outside on the perimeter,” he said.
While nothing is set in stone, Otten is open to whatever the immediate future is for him in Pocatello. “I’ve shown interest in redshirting,” Otten said. “I think taking the time to bulk and improve on shooting and decision making would benefit me a lot.”
Otten averaged 15.5 points while led 5A in both rebounding (13.1 rpg) and blocked shots (2.5 bpg) and earned 2nd Team All-State honors despite missing a few weeks due to a broken wrist. He was also named to Team Oregon for WAVOR the Game. Our congratulations go out to Otten and his family on his decision.