RE: Emoni Bates NBA
The Athletic MUCH more critical:
69. Emoni Bates
W | Eastern Michigan | Birthdate: Jan. 28, 2004 (Age: 19) | 6-8 | 180 LBS |
Hometown: Ypsilanti, Mich.
BACKGROUND
Parents are E.J. and Edith. E.J. played professionally for a few years overseas and coached Emoni throughout his career on his
AAU team. Was about as high-profile as a prospect can get throughout his high school career. Had some staggeringly impressive
performances on the AAU circuit for his age and was anointed as a potential No. 1 pick in the eyes of many. Was tracked relentlessly throughout high school and publicized heavily. Went to Lincoln High School to start his high school career, then attended
Ypsi Prep Academy, a school in Ypsilanti created by E.J. for his high school career. Played there for a year and was a finalist for
high school player of the year. After his junior season, made a very noteworthy decision to reclassify up to college. He committed to Michigan State earlier in his career but opened his recruitment in April before his first collegiate season. In August, he
decided to commit to Memphis and began attending the school. Went there for his first year, and things did not go well. He got
injured, but even before then, it was clear he wasn’t ready to play college basketball and make a consistent impact across the
court. Decided to transfer following the season. After a long process, committed to Eastern Michigan, his hometown college.
In September, Bates was arrested and charged with two felony gun charges after a traffic stop in Michigan. Those charges were
dropped in October. Played this past season at Eastern Michigan and scored a lot of points but left a lot to be desired in terms of
his overall game for evaluators. Declared for the 2023 NBA Draft after the season. Was invited to the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.
STRENGTHS
Bates is an impressive shot creator at 6-foot-8 without shoes. He has real shiftiness throughout his hips and all sorts of creativity
in terms of mindset as a hooper. Has an innate understanding of the way defenders play him and of their balance. He can play
off that at a very high level and get to the spots he wants consistently. Has a nice bag of crossovers, hesitations, hang dribbles
and more. Once he gets that separation, he can fill it up. He is a terrific shooter. Bates only hit 30 percent from 3 on pull-ups
this past season, but that was probably higher than expected given the degree of difficulty on the shots. Bates also hit 37.6
percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. He’s a legitimately high-level shooter with size. Also, has a solid floater game he can get to
in the midrange.
WEAKNESSES
Everything else. Bates has very short arms and no strength to speak of, which was an issue for him at Eastern Michigan. He
also is not a great athlete in terms of explosiveness. Has very little first step. Doesn’t have a ton of vertical pop. Doesn’t have
an efficient way to beat defenses as a scorer right now unless he’s just catching and firing from 3. Made just 45.8 percent of his
shots at the rim in half-court settings, a disastrous number for a draft prospect playing in the MAC. Took about three midrange
jumpers per game and made just 39 percent of them. Made just 34.2 percent of his half-court 3s this past season because the
degree of difficulty on them is impossibly high. That’s the real issue with his game. Bates does not really play all that well with
his teammates. He’s all about scoring himself and not about creating efficient offense. Despite his talent level and the fact that
he was playing in the MAC, Eastern Michigan was about 0.5 points per 100 possessions better offensively when he was off the
court versus when he was on the court. He just doesn’t move the needle on offense despite his talent for creating shots because
he puts up some of the worst, most difficult shots you’ll see. Doesn’t pass and make plays for his teammates. And all this pales in
comparison to his defensive ability, which is nonexistent right now. Is not nearly attentive enough off the ball to make an impact.
Needs to lock in and engage in that regard. On the ball, would be far too skinny to hold his ground in the NBA against other shot
creators. He would get hunted relentlessly due to his lack of strength. Bates’ feel for creating a shot is great; his feel for playing
winning basketball is quite poor.
SUMMARY
Bates is such an interesting shot creator and shooter at nearly 6-foot-10 in shoes that I would be willing to give him a two-way
contract if all the background intel came back clean. It is difficult to find shot creators this gifted. But he must totally change
his style of play to make it work. He needs to get better at playing without the ball in his hands. Make an impact when you’re
away from the ball. Become a good defender. Become a good mover without the ball. Understand what’s happening on the court
beyond just getting buckets. It’s asking a lot. He needs a lot of work. But there is a talented basketball player here for his age.
Hopefully he buys into showing it and doing the type of things that will get him on an NBA court.
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Coached by the ghost of Whizzer White?
