Emoni Bates, 3rd place in ESPN 100 in 2021, pledges to play Memphis Tigers men’s basketball

Emoni Bates, one of the best outlooks in high school basketball, announced his commitment to Memphis on Wednesday and placed the tigers firmly into a potential Final Four team.

Bates will fit into coach Penny Hardaway’s program for the coming season. Bates appeared in the Memphis Student Directory on Wednesday afternoon; The last day to register for the fall semester is Thursday.

6-foot-9 small striker Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bates is ranked 3rd in the ESPN 100 in the 2021 class. He originally committed to the state of Michigan last summer before resuming his recruitment in April. Bates was long expected to drop out of college and play professionally, but he didn’t have a busy recruiting until well into the spring.

Earlier this month, Bates announced his move to Category 2021 while cutting his list of options to four: Michigan State, Oregon, Memphis and the G League.

He visited Memphis and Oregon last week.

Bates had been ranked number one in 2022 since he first rose to the recruitment position early in his high school career, but had an inconsistent junior season at Ypsi Prep, Michigan. However, he regained some of his momentum with the Team Final grassroots program during the spring, and once again became one of the high school top scorers. Rejoining Bates Fundamental on the Nike EYBL track in July, Bates scored an average of 20.0 points in nine games, including a 33-point performance.

He also played a 35-point match at the end of July in Nike Peach Jam’s consolation stock, shooting from the field 13-24 and finishing six rebounds and three assists.

In Memphis, Bates joins the possible top five NBA players, Jalen Duren, with whom he played in the Team Final during the spring. Duren committed to the tigers earlier this month.

“Bates is considered one of the most talented offensive players,” Paul Biancardi, ESPN’s director of recruitment, said. “Agile and explosive, with position size and high-level shooting technology from anywhere, he has hard-to-detect dribling and is great in transition, isolation, pull-up jumpers and spot-up triple games, as well as playing second-hand side screen functions.

“Bates brings competitiveness, but he still has to mature. As most first-timers in the university feel, there is a lot to learn on the defensive side of the field. He had shown his ability to work well with Jalen Duren over the weekend with the team on the final. season. “

Bates and Duren are two of four ESPN 100 opportunities to commit to Memphis in the 2021 class, and Johnathan Lawson and Josh Minott will also head to Tigers. The four-star center Sam Onu is another freshman to watch next season.

Hardaway has three returning starters – Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams and Lester Quinones – from the team that won the Mississippi State to win the NIT championship. He also added three major transfers: Earl Timberlake (9.3 PPG in Miami), Tyler Harris (7.5 PPG in Iowa) and Chandler Lawson (4.4 PPG in Oregon).

Memphis was out of the top 25 in the July Way-Too-Early Top 25 update, but the additions of Duren and Bates place the Tigers in the top ten — and clearly in the national championship debate.

Bates will not turn 18 until January, so he’s too young to get into the 2022 NBA graft. The draft regulation states that in order to be admitted to the draft, there must be a year removed from the high school graduation class and must be 19 years old in that calendar year. Bates will not turn 19 until January 2023. As a result, he can play college basketball for two years or go to college for a year and then play in the G League or elsewhere for a year before moving on to the 2023 draft.