Emoni Bates, the world’s biggest basketball prospect, got engaged to Michigan State on Monday, and this would be a simple story if it happened in 1990 instead of 2020. It’s not that simple. Bates loves MSU. He has joined the coaches there. He has expressed great interest in attending college. And he could never go.
Meanwhile, he has bold plans. Bates’s father, EJ, tells him Illustrated Sports that Emoni is leaving Ypsilanti (Mich.) Lincoln High School to start his own preparatory school, Ypsilanti Prep Aim High. At least eight other prospects will join her there. The plan is for a national schedule, with games in professional and college arenas like Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, the Breslin Center in East Lansing and the East Michigan Convocation Center. EJ Bates, who trains Emoni at Bates Basics, will be the Ypsilanti Prep Aim High head coach.
Bates, who has just finished his second year at Lincoln, will be reclassified and will graduate in 2021, one year ahead of schedule.
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And then … I could go to the state of Michigan. He could join the NBA G-League, as other elite prospects did this year. You could also go abroad.
“I want all the options to be available when that time comes so I can decide,” EJ tells SI.
The goal would be for Bates to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA 2022 draft, but that is uncertain now. The NBA currently requires prospects to be one year out of high school. and turning 19 during the draft calendar year. Bates turns 19 in January 2023. The NBA would have to amend its rule to be eligible for the 2022 draft.
Bates’ decision may depend in part on the current name, image, and NCAA-like saga. Consider the range of results. Bates may appear in East Lansing with a $ 100 million shoe contract. It is also possible that the NIL situation of the NCAA is not resolved, but nothing will prevent him from signing that contract and playing, for example, in Europe.
When asked if loose NIL restrictions make Emoni more likely to go to college, EJ said, “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer for that at the moment. There are many things that could be a factor. “
EJ is convinced that if Emoni goes to college, it will be in the state of Michigan. Tom Izzo and his staff recruited Bates harder, better, and more than any other elite college program.
I saw Bates play for Ypsilanti High this winter. Bates is so superior to almost everyone he plays that the product didn’t even look like basketball. He scored and was happy, was fouled and was not happy, or missed. There was no flow to the game. It was like watching a world-class concert pianist play in a high school orchestra with children who were learning to play the violin.
The image of Bates playing four years at his hometown school was charming, but this year it became clear that it was impractical. He’s going to be an NBA All-Star, and everyone around him knows it. The Bateses have made it clear: they will control the process that will get you there.
“He’s ready for that, basketball-wise,” said EJ. “It is more of an intimate setting, a more controlled setting. Important to me is the progression that he continues to improve with like-minded men trying to achieve the same goal. It got too dangerous … ‘Who’s going to try to disturb him tonight to get him out of character? Who is going to throw a ball to the head? It is time to move forward and move forward. “
Ypsi Prep Aim High will have a loaded roster full of prospects in the top 100 of its high school classes. EJ said she hopes her list will include Dillon Hunter from Georgia; Shawn Phillips of Ohio; JaVaughn Hannah, Orlando Lovejoy, Jaden Akins, Genesis Kemp and John McCrear from Michigan.
“Everything is finished,” said EJ. “We are waiting for the world to reopen so we can go ahead and play a national calendar.”
The uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus also influenced Bates’ plans. If the state of Michigan cancels high school sports but other states let them continue, Ypsi Prep Aim High can still play.
The full schedule is not finalized, but EJ Bates has already lined up the games against coaching powers Oak Hill (November 13) and Sierra Canyon (tentatively November 21), IMG Academy (February 8), Montverde Academy (11 February), LaLumiere School (February 25), along with visits to the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, the City of Palms Classic in Florida, the Flying to the Hoop Invitational in Ohio, and the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts.
In the end, Bates will graduate from high school and will probably be even better known nationally.
AND then He could go to East Lansing … or abroad … or the G League … or just train on his own, while waiting for his expected call as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft 2022 or 2023.
More SI.com Michigan state coverage:
Emoni Bates engages with the Spartans
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo named Best B1G Coach of the Decade
Final Rankings for Michigan State 2020 Hoops Recruitment Class
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