But he had only five more double-digit scoring outings in his final 15 games. He scored in double figures in each of his first three games as a Tiger, totaling 48 points. Though the Tigers initially tried using Bates as a primary ball handler, he struggled in that role and finished the season with 23 assists and 42 turnovers. He shot 38.6% from the floor, 32.9% from 3-point range and 64.6% from the free-throw line. “The team has just come together,” growing while Bates was rehabbing his back injury, Hardaway said.īates averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 23.4 minutes for Memphis. He totaled eight points in tournament play.īates' absence raised questions about whether he'd been a distraction for the team. Tigers coach Penny Hardaway told Sports Illustrated in February that he couldn’t say his team was better without Bates. Ultimately he returned to practice and to play in the Tigers’ two NCAA Tournament games, logging three minutes in a win against Boise State and 12 in a loss to Gonzaga. 28 until March 17. At one point he returned home to Michigan seek a second opinion. Saying goodbye: Longtime University of Louisville athletics administrator Kenny Klein to retire in Juneīates was out with what the team called a lower back injury from Jan. He played 18 games, and the Tigers - who finished the season 22-11 - were 10-8 when he participated. That was true, too, in Bates’ up-and-down freshman season at Memphis. 5 player in ’21.īut he was no longer seen as the all-but-certain top NBA draft pick he once seemed to be.Ī versatile offensive player with the ability to make contested pull-up jumpers from deep range, Bates remained an electrifying scorer.
When Bates reclassified from the high school class of 2022 to the 2021 class, the 247Sports Composite rated him the No. He finished his high school career at Ypsi Prep, a school created by his father, EJ, and partnered with Arbor Valley Academy Private Online High School. Though his development slowed, Bates remained a high-level prospect. Roster tracker: Who's in and who's out for the Louisville men's basketball team? As recently as 2020, ESPN ranked him the top overall player in high school hoops.īy 15 years old, Bates was drawing Kevin Durant comparisons. When Bates was a sophomore at Ypsilanti (Michigan) Lincoln, he was widely considered the best high school basketball player in America regardless of class. Where Bates wants to go is the NBA, and there was a time when he was not just a lock for the league’s lottery but considered a candidate for a future No. “He’s got a lot of experience with the game and he would make sure that I would get to where I want to go.” “KP is someone I would really love to learn from,” Bates told On3. The 6-foot-9 Bates told the site that when he visited Kentucky as a kid, he “had a bond” with Payne, then a Wildcats assistant coach. It further stoked speculation when Bates told On3 Sports that his relationship with Cardinals coach Kenny Payne dates back to seventh grade. The Bates buzz built Tuesday, when 247Sports analyst Travis Branham projected Bates would choose Louisville over his other listed finalists: Arkansas, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Michigan and Seton Hall. Sign on the dotted line: Devin Ree signs letter of intent with Kenny Payne, Louisville basketball He’s something different now, less a star and more a talented teenager seeking a fresh start.īut his still is a name that makes ears perk, and so it was notable this week when the former Memphis forward listed Louisville among six schools he’s considering as transfer destinations.
There was a time when Emoni Bates was the biggest name in high school basketball. View Gallery: Emoni Bates: Memphis basketball guard in photos
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