BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Bellingham Slam has announced that former Texas A&M International center Evan Matteson has signed a contract to play professionally in Norway this winter.
The 6-foot-10 native of Edmonds, Wash., and former Meadowdale High School standout will be departing next week to Bergen, Norway, to join the Gimle BBK team.
Matteson will be tasked with helping improve Gimle's fortunes in Norway's BLNO league, the country's premier men's basketball division. The team has finished with losing records in the previous three seasons and most recently lost in the first round of the 2012-13 BLNO playoffs. The 2013-14 season tips off on October 4 and runs through March.
For the Dustdevils, Matteson enjoyed an outstanding senior campaign that saw him lead his team in scoring with 12.6 points per game en route to a 21-7 record and two consecutive Heartland Conference Championships. He also led in three other categories including rebounds (6.8 per game), blocks (44) and field goal percentage (58.3). His collegiate career concluded with him earning the Heartland Conference's Player of the Year award, the first time a TAMIU player has received the award.
Matteson was a key figure in the Slam's 2013 International Basketball League championship season, helping the team to an 18-2 record and posting averages of 15.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He was also Bellingham's leading shot blocker with 1.5 per contest.
His biggest moment of the 2013 IBL campaign came on May 27, when he nailed a buzzer-beating three-point shot to give the Slam a 106-104 win over the Portland Chinooks and helped preserve what was then an eight-game winning streak for the club.
This will be Matteson's first experience playing professionally overseas. Last fall, Matteson was drafted by the NBA Development League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers, becoming the first Slam player to earn that distinction, and participated in training camp and several exhibition games with the Vipers before being released.
This summer, Matteson participated in the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro League in Seattle, earning First Team All-League honors and had the opportunity to play alongside Crawford, Isaiah Thomas and NBA All-Star Blake Griffin.
Matteson originally returned to Washington to suit up for the Slam for several games in 2012.
Matteson will become the second Slam player to compete in Norway's BLNO league. Swingman Paul Hafford, who played for the Slam from 2008 to 2012, competed for the Ulriken Eagles during the 2009-10 winter season.
