Prep Athlete of the Week: Matthew Oatman
Kamiah senior guard voted P1FCU Prep Athlete of the Week
In a must-win boys basketball game for the Kamiah Kubs on Feb. 27, senior Matthew Oatman stepped up to help keep his team’s state tournament hopes alive.
The 5-foot-11 shooting guard put up a team-high 25 points to lead the Kubs past Logos of Moscow 75-50, emphatically avenging a defeat from their regular-season finale. The result advanced Kamiah to a state play-in game it would win even more decisively before making a run to the Idaho Class 2A state final.
Oatman’s high school hoops career is now over, but he received a going-away present as he was voted the Tribune’s Prep Athlete of the Week.
“He was a little bit late to the team due to some other issues to start the year, but really came in and contributed quite a bit as a senior,” Kamiah coach Aaron Skinner said. “Basketball is obviously his favorite sport. He’s been playing with these guys for several years, between (cousin) Everett (Oatman), Dave (Kludt) and Jack Engledow.
“He really worked hard to be where he was by the end of the season, because it meant a lot to him and his teammates to make it to that state title game.”
Oatman achieved a lot on the court, but it is perhaps the camaraderie with his teammates that he cherishes the most.
“It was really fun; the first time going to State with my senior buddies, and the last time,” said Oatman, who offered a special shout-out to “King” Dave Kludt, the Kubs’ overall leading scorer and rebounder. “A bittersweet moment.”
Oatman, who Skinner calls an “athletic son of a gun,” was also a multi-position standout for Kamiah football, and is preparing to compete for the Kubs as a sprinter and jumper in track and field.
