Former five-star recruit Emoni Bates has had himself a stellar start to his Eastern Michigan career after coming over from Memphis following his freshman season.
Despite this, Bates’ squad entered Tuesday night’s game against Toledo with a mere 4-15 record. Off-court issues have also had an impact on his status for the coming 2023 NBA Draft.
With that said, the 6-foot-9 Bates was a highlight-reel waiting to happen in the first half of Tuesday night’s game. That included the Michigan native going off for 29 consecutive points for his Eagles inside Savage Arena in Toledo. It was a sight to behold.
This might not be Klay Thompson going off for 37 points in a quarter. But it sure is college basketball’s equivalent.
Emoni Bates’s first-half performance saw him nail seven three-pointers. He scored these 29 points in the matter of just over 13 minutes, too.
A five-star recruit of Memphis in the Class of 2021, Bates transferred to Eastern Michigan back in August after spending his freshman season with the Tigers.
He was then arrested on felony gun charges while being pulled over driving a car in September. Bates was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. This has impacted Bates’ draft stock despite the wing playing at a high level during the 2022-23 season.
- Emoni Bates stats (2022-23): 19.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 42% shooting, 34% 3-point
A few more highlight games like this while keeping his nose clean off the court will certainly have Bates on the radar of teams heading into the 2023 NBA Draft in June.