Emoni Bates is the No. Emoni Bates, the No. 3 basketball prospect in 2021 ESPN 100, announced his intention to play college basketball for Memphis. (0:26).
Emoni Bates is a top prospect in high school basketball and announced Wednesday his commitment to Memphis, positioning the Tigers as a potential Final Four contender.
Penny Hardaway will be wearing Bates' uniform during the next season. He was seen in the Memphis student directory on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday is the last day you can enroll for the fall semester.
Bates, a 6-foot-9 forward from Ypsilanti in Michigan, is ranked No. Bates is ranked No. 3 in the ESPN 100 rankings for the class of 2021. Before reopening his recruiting in April, he originally committed to Michigan State. Bates was long expected to leave college to pursue a career in the professional game, but he didn't have any active recruitment until late spring.
Bates, who announced earlier this month that he would be reclassifying to the 2021 class, also reduced his options to just four: Michigan State (Oregon), Memphis, and the G League.
Last week, he visited Memphis and Oregon.
Bates was ranked No. Since his debut on the recruiting scene in high school, Bates had been ranked as the No. He regained some momentum during the spring with Team Final's grassroots program and was able to reestablish himself as one the top high school scorers. Bates joined the Bates Fundamental on the Nike EYBL circuit again in July. He averaged 20.0 points over nine games, with a 33-point performance.
In the Nike Peach Jam consolation bracket, he also scored 35 points in July. He shot 13-for-24 from field, and finished with six rebounds as well as three assists.
Bates will be joining Jalen Duren (a potential top-five NBA selection) in Memphis. Duren was his teammate on Team Final this spring. Duren signed with the Tigers earlier in the month.
Paul Biancardi, ESPN's national recruiting director, stated that Bates is "considered one of the best offensive players in the league." He is agile and explosive, with high-level shot making talent and positional size. He has a elusive dribble, and will excel in transition, isolations and pull-up jumpers.
"Bates is competitive, but needs to continue to grow. There is much to be learned on the defensive side of court, as most college freshmen have experienced. From their weekend on the circuit together with Team Final, he had shown the ability to work well with Jalen Duren. Duren and Bates could be the most dangerous combination in college basketball this year."
Bates and Duren were two of four ESPN 100 prospects who committed to Memphis in 2021. Josh Minott and Johnathan Lawson are also going to Memphis. Next season, Sam Onu, a four-star center, is another one to be on the watch.
Hardaway is proud to have three of his former starters, Landers Nolley II and DeAndre Williams, back from the team that defeated Mississippi State to win NIT title. He also acquired three high-major transfers, Earl Timberlake (9.3 ppg at Miami), Tyler Harris (7 ppg at Iowa State), and Chandler Lawson (4 ppg at Oregon).
Memphis was not among the top 25 in July’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Update. However, Duren and Bates have brought the Tigers into the top 10, and put them clearly in the national championship conversation.
Bates is not 18 until January and therefore cannot enter the 2022 NBA Draft. To be eligible for the draft, a prospect must have graduated from high school one year before the draft. Bates will not turn 19 until January 2023. He could either play college basketball for two more years or continue playing in college and then go on to play in the G League, or another league, for one year before entering the 2023 draft.
