Emoni Bates on track to becoming one of basketball’s all-time greats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (BVM) – It’s hard to ignore a player who is being dubbed as the best high school prospect since LeBron James, and has a game that is compared to Kevin Durant’s.
Emoni Bates is that guy, and he is regarded as arguably the best high school basketball player in the country. After just two seasons playing at Ypsilanti Lincoln High School, the five-star recruit has made quite a name for himself, as evidenced by becoming the first sophomore ever to win the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award this spring.
Bates began playing the sport as a toddler, following his father, Elgin, who played collegiately at Kentucky Wesleyan. He continued to develop through AAU ball during his youth, and came on to the national radar in seventh grade at Clague Middle School. After averaging over 40 points per game that season, Bates sat out of middle school ball in eighth grade to train individually.
The stage was set for Bates as he entered Lincoln High School, and he has become further recognized as an elite prospect. The 6-foot-9, 200-pound basketball star has an exceptional offensive game that is hard to defend. Bates has strong ball-handling skills for his size and is always a shooting threat from deep.
The 16-year-old’s 7-foot-1 wingspan allows him to accumulate strong rebounding numbers while also being active on defense. In addition, he has strong hands on both sides of the ball. But maybe the best part of his game is just the force and relentless determination he plays with at all times.
The lanky frame and smooth offensive game is why the rising junior is being compared to Kevin Durant. However, what may ultimately make Bates the next great is his work ethic. Bates is always in the gym working on his game, similar to what we hear now from a budding NBA superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo. But he also has a killer mindset, much like that of Michael Jordan, or the “Mamba Mentality” used by the late Kobe Bryant.
Whoever Bates is compared to next, his first two years at Lincoln have shown he is destined for greatness. As a freshman, Bates averaged 28 points and 10 rebounds per game. To put that in comparison, LeBron averaged 18 points in his freshman year at St. Vincent-St. Mary.
The No. 1 ranked player in the 2022 class also created numerous highlights as a freshman, including two game winning buzzer-beaters in back-to-back contests during the Railsplitters’ playoff run in 2019. Soon after, Bates helped lead the school to its first Division I state basketball championship.
Bates won Gatorade State Player of the Year honors in Michigan as a freshman, in addition to being named MSHAA Division I Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
Just before his sophomore campaign got started, Bates was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That is something not a lot of athletes can say, especially when they are just 15 years old at the time.
Primed for another spectacular season, Bates delivered this past winter. As a sophomore, he upped his scoring average to over 32 points per game while maintaining averages of nine rebounds and three assists. His highlight game of the season came in February, when Bates put up a ridiculous 63 points and 21 rebounds in a double-overtime win against Chelsea.
The 16-year-old had his team poised for another state run, as the Railsplitters reached the District 18 state tournament final with a 19-3 record. But of course, the remainder of Bates’ sophomore season would be canceled due to COVID-19.
Despite not getting to finish his season out, Bates has received some impressive hardware during the offseason. The Lincoln star was again named his Gatorade State Player of the Year, AP Michigan Player of the Year and Ann Arbor-area Player of the Year. In addition, he was named to the Naismith All-American second team.
But the most impressive honor Bates has received so far in his career is the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award that he won in mid-April. Bates became the first-ever sophomore to earn the honor, which is very impressive considering the list of past winners consists of the likes of Kobe, LeBron, Karl Anthony-Towns and Ben Simmons among many other stars.
As a result, the five-star recruit will have a chance to be the first player to win the award three times. Making history while winning it this spring, Bates was awarded the honor through congratulatory tweets from former NBA champion, Dwyane Wade, and current Celtics star, Jayson Tatum.
Bates will now play for Ypsi Prep Academy when he hits the hardwood for his junior season. There is also a possibility he could reclassify and make that his final season prep season of basketball.
If things stay the way they are, the 16-year-old plans to play one season of college basketball and will likely head to the NBA as an unquestioned first overall pick.
However, there is a chance that by 2022, the one-and-done rule — that has been in place between college basketball and the NBA since 2005 — will be abolished and Bates will be able to jump straight into the NBA. Bates has said in the past he will consider pursuing that option if it is available.
That is the likely reason he has not been heavily recruited by many college basketball powerhouses such as Duke and Kentucky. However, Michigan State has expressed interest in Bates for several years, and in June he made a suprising move by comitting to play for Tom Izzo’s Spartans. There is still a possibilty he forgoes college if the one-and-done rule is indeed abolished, but for now Spartan fans can look forward to watching Bates play an entire season at the Breslin Center.
Regardless of what the next few years hold until this incredible prospect is in the pros, there is no doubt he will keep getting better while his future continues to get brighter. To be compared to former greats and current NBA stars while doing things at the high school level no sophomore has ever done, Bates has star written all over him. And it’s quite possible down the road we might label him not just as a star, but instead a basketball legend.