Five-star senior
Emoni Bates of
Ypsi Prep Academy (Ypsilanti, Mich.) is headed to the University of Memphis to play for Penny Hardaway next season. The news was leaked on Twitter ahead of an announcement by the No. 5 high school basketball prospect in the Class of 2021 according to
247Sports.
Bates said on Aug. 4 he would forgo his senior year of high school, before committing to the Tigers over the NBA G League, Michigan State and
Oregon.
The 6-foot-9,
200-pound wing concluded an
impressive prep career with three MaxPreps All-America
selections
— bursting onto the scene during his freshman year. He led
Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
to the program's first state championship after averaging 28.5 points
and 10.2 rebounds per contest to capture MaxPreps Freshman of the Year
and Michigan Division 1 Associated Press Player of the Year.
His dominance continued during his sophomore campaign, making
national headlines with an incredible 63-point, 21-rebound outburst in a
108-102 double overtime victory. He averaged 32.4 points, 9.0 rebounds,
3.0 assists and 2.2 steals to win MaxPreps Sophomore of the Year.
In a shortened 10-game year in 2020-21 with newly-formed Ypsi Prep Academy, Bates produced 25.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per outing to earn first team MaxPreps Junior All-America honors.
Bates finished ninth in scoring in the Nike EYBL this summer, averaging 19.6 points for Bates Fundamentals.
Lofty expectations follow the smooth-scoring wing to the next level after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated put him in the national spotlight following his tremendous freshman campaign.
A projected Top 5 selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, Bates will be forced to spend two years in college before entering the NBA ranks due to age limit restrictions. Bates does not turn 18 years old until Jan. 28, 2022.
Bates joins forces with MaxPreps Junior of the Year
Jalen Duren, who also recently reclassified into the Class of 2021 and committed to Memphis earlier this month. The Tigers enter the 2021-22 college basketball season with high expectations behind the leadership of projected NBA lottery picks Bates and Duren.
Emoni Bates during his sophomore season at Lincoln.
File Photo: Scott Hasse
