
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. “He is an NBA talent and we are committed to winning and helping him and his teammates reach their dreams.View Gallery: Emoni Bates: Memphis basketball guard in photos

1-ranked player in the country in Emoni Bates join our program,” Heath said. “I realize what a special moment this is by having a No. He is a former Izzo assistant and was head coach at Kent State, which he led to the round of eight in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Arkansas and South Florida. His sophomore season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and he attended Ypsi Prep Academy as a junior, his final year of high school.Įastern Michigan was 10-21 overall and 5-15 in the Mid-American Conference last season and has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1998.Įagles coach Stan Heath is entering his second season at the school. In 2019 as a freshman, the slender and skilled guard led Ypsilanti Lincoln to a state title and was named Michigan’s Division 1 Player of the Year by The Associated Press. Oats steers Alabama to March Madness in a turbulent seasonīates announced in April that he was leaving the school and later said he would decide among Michigan, Arkansas, Seton Hall, DePaul, Louisville and Eastern Michigan.
