Emoni Bates Returns Home To Play Basketball At Eastern Michigan
Emoni Bates is a talented basketball player born in Ann Arbor and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan. He attended and played basketball at Lincoln High school before transferring to Ypsi Prep Academy and what a high school career he had! He was named Michigan's Gatorade Player, MaxPreps Freshman, and AP Division 1 Player of the year, along with All-State First team honors as a freshman.
He was placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the start of his Sophomore year and was even said to have been the best freshman to ever play in Michigan and possibly the best High School prospect since Lebron James. He would win the same awards as a sophomore and was the Gatorade National Playe of the year. He transferred to Ypsi Prep Academy, a school made by his father, before reclassifying to skip his senior year and play at Memphis. After a tough year at Memphis, Bates is returning to familiar grounds.
Bates decided to forgo his senior year and attend the University of Memphis to play for the Tigers basketball team and their head coach, Penny Hardaway. He faced many critics during his first year of college ball, as the expectations for his talent were through the roof due to his accomplishments in high school. After a rocky freshman season, Bates entered his name into the transfer portal to find a more suitable place for him to play ball. Good thing for basketball fans in Michigan and his family, He's coming home.
Bates will be returning to Ypsilanti, Michigan to attend Eastern Michigan University where he will join the Eagles basketball team, who has a talented class of freshmen coming in. I'm not sure if the other talent coming in or the proximity to home was the winning formula, but Bates chose Eastern Michigan over the University of Michigan, Depaul University, University of Arkansas, Seton Hall University, and the University of Lousiville.
The Eagles are still looking to turn their ship around and they believe the combination of second-year head coach Stan Heath and Emoni Bates can lead their team back to the NCAA tournament, a place they haven't been since 1998. Bates is the highest-profile player in MAC, Heath has 12 years of college head coaching experience at Arkansas and South Florida, and they have a very talented class coming in giving the Eagles good chances of winning the MAC championship and a birth to the NCAA tournament.