Emoni Bates

[Spartanmack]

I hope for his sake he's not another victim of parental ego - like Marcus Taylor but worse.

Edit: and I never got the comparisons to Lebron James - Lebron was a physical beast, a man among boys like Chris Webber was in high school. They had that freakish combo of size and athleticism. Bates is a bean pole - he seems like a more talented Todd Day than he does a Lebron James.

 

[johnny2x2x]

I hope for his sake he's not another victim of parental ego - like Marcus Taylor but worse.

Edit: and I never got the comparisons to Lebron James - Lebron was a physical beast, a man among boys like Chris Webber was in high school. They had that freakish combo of size and athleticism. Bates is a bean pole - he seems like a more talented Todd Day than he does a Lebron James.

The comparisons were that he was as good as Lebron, not that he was the same as Lebron physically. The Kevin Durant comparisons seemed more apt, but that's just because he is a thin shot maker with extraordinary handles for someone his size. Bates is 6-8 200 lbs with a 6-9 wingspan, Durant is one of the all time basketball freaks at 6-11 with a 7-5 wingspan and now Durant weighs 240. They both make really tough shots and have a sweet looking stroke.

We'll see what the future holds for Bates, but he needs a year or two of structured basketball before he's NBA ready IMO.

 

[Sbee]

The comparisons were that he was as good as Lebron, not that he was the same as Lebron physically. The Kevin Durant comparisons seemed more apt, but that's just because he is a thin shot maker with extraordinary handles for someone his size. Bates is 6-8 200 lbs with a 6-9 wingspan, Durant is one of the all time basketball freaks at 6-11 with a 7-5 wingspan and now Durant weighs 240. They both make really tough shots and have a sweet looking stroke.

We'll see what the future holds for Bates, but he needs a year or two of structured basketball before he's NBA ready IMO.

Bates would have been the best recruit of the Izzo era but would have been a challenge to coach. All freshmen jack bad shots from time to time, loaf on defense, would Bates have gotten the Aaron Henry treatment? there's also the Jaden Akins situation that would have to be mended. Not saying we couldn't have been great, but chemistry would have been a challenge.

 

[Spartanmack]

It's reassuring to know we don't have to worry about Bates getting along with Akins. Even if he ends up teaming w/ Duren and going to Michigan, we can rest assured knowing we dodged a bullet.

 

[Spartanmack]

Bates reclassified (12 days ago) and named MSU among his top 3 along w/ Memphis (who just landed Duren who also reclassified to 2021 recently) and Oregon. Looks like we may have to deal with the Bates/Akins situation after all. Memphis landing Duren doesn't help, at least they didn't team up at uofm. Bates will be visiting Memphis and Oregon this week - presumably he will have to make a decision soon.

 

[gotime909]

I still feel it's very unlikely he goes msu. If he seriously was so msu he wouldn't have 2 other schools still in the mix. He's a kid so it's lame to bag on him, but it seems like he likes attention a little.

 

[johnny2x2x]

Memphis lock. There's a business in Memphis offering $1 Million in an endorsement deal to both Duran and Bates. So Hardaway is getting the top 2 players in the class.

 

[Spartanmack]

yeah, just in case I didn't lay the sarcasm on thick enough, I don't think there's any chance he chooses MSU. Looks like it was a token mention.

 

[Spartanmack]

Memphis lock. There's a business in Memphis offering $1 Million in an endorsement deal to both Duran and Bates. So Hardaway is getting the top 2 players in the class.

Between the transfer portal and this NIL thing, college sports are becoming a lot less interesting to me. If they're going to be basically the same as the pro versions with a much lower caliber of play, might as well switch to pro sports or more likely, just follow them a lot less closely.

 

[Spartanmack]

I forgot to mention Bate's 4th option - he's still considering the G League but the "experts" are predicting he goes to college, favoring Memphis. Based on their track record and his family situation (over-involved dad in over his head doing all he can to screw up his kid's life/career), I'm guessing it's at least 50/50 college/G League. I'm willing to give the experts' the benefit of the doubt on which college given their track record there is much better when they're predicting elite kids not going to MSU than when they think they are.

 

[Spartanmack]

Rumors swirling that Bates was announcing today but his dad squashed that. Apparently, he is set to announce Friday at 6pm. That's when companies and politicians release bad news - when everyone is at the bar for happy hour after a long week. Is there anything his old man can't screw up?

 

[johnny2x2x]

Rumors swirling that Bates was announcing today but his dad squashed that. Apparently, he is set to announce Friday at 6pm. That's when companies and politicians release bad news - when everyone is at the bar for happy hour after a long week. Is there anything his old man can't screw up?

My guess is G League now. If he was announcing for Memphis he would have done so already.

Possible that the joke high school his dad set up for basketball doesn't qualify him for any college.

 

[Spartanmack]

My guess is G League now. If he was announcing for Memphis he would have done so already.

Possible that the joke high school his dad set up for basketball doesn't qualify him for any college.

Not sure if they could get away with it today but I don't think Memphis would care - if i'm not mistaken, historically they're like UNLV under Tark or OU under Switzer or Louisville under Nike or was it Adidas?

 

[johnny2x2x]

Committed to Memphis. Signing a $1 Million endorsement deal with the Memphis Fed Ex.

 

[SpartyNash]

At least he can help put up an NIT banner for a few years until it gets rescinded

 

[Spartanmack]

at least we can forget about him completely now.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I'm way late on all of this, but it was still fun when he was projected/committed to MSU. Honestly, I think his dad is just a less successful Lamar Ball, and is torpedoing his son, but oh well. Memphis isn't a bad organization, though I think he probably makes more progress as a player with MSU (again, not that his dad seems all that keen on development). But a big payout for NIL can't be turned down. If some company offered me 1 million for 1 year of work, even if it somehow made me worse at the job I do after, it would be worth it. Most development comes through NBA coaching anyway.

As a Michigan-native, I'm probably still going to follow him a bit (box scores, not going to take time to watch Memphis games) and hope for the best. I don't blame an 18 year old kid for having a crazy dad, or making less than optimal decisions.

 

[gotime909]

Don't forget that his original msu commitment was on national TV and they used most of the air time promoting the school his dad had formed.

 

[gotime909]

I won't take shots at the kid, but I will say the Walmart Lamar Ball reference to his dad was pretty damn funny and fitting

 

[Spartanmack]

I don't see myself figuring out how to watch a two man show beat up on the likes of Tulsa, SMU, SF and Temple or even better AAC teams. From what I saw of their nonconference schedule, there's not really any interesting matchups there either.

So what happens to Ypsi Prep - has that folded already? Based on their lack of success, I can't imagine there are a lot of players looking to tank their careers in their teens.