Report: Louisville Transfer Target Emoni Bates Won't Decide Future Until Mid-June
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For Louisville fans that were expecting a transfer decision from former Memphis forward Emoni Bates sometime in the immediate future, they're going to have to wait a little while longer
On Tuesday, college basketball insider Adam Zagoria reported that he was told "not to expect any news on Emoni Bates' future plans until mid-June." Zagoria did not report a reason why Bates would be waiting an additional month to commit.
Back on May 2, the 6-foot-9, 190-pound wing announced that Louisville, Michigan, DePaul, Arkansas, Seton Hall and Eastern Michigan had emerged as his top six schools after entering the transfer portal.
While there was slight buzz surrounding Michigan and Seton Hall after he dropped his top schools, the Cardinals quickly emerged as the perceived frontrunner for Bates. Multiple crystal ball predictions for Louisville began to pour in across sites like 247Sports, Rivals and On3.
“The one school in particular that I’m hearing right now is Louisville and coach Kenny Payne. It sounds like they’ve really made an impression on his family,” 247Sports' Travis Branham said when he put in his crystal ball pick. “All the information right now is pointing in Louisville’s direction.”
Bates was the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2022, but opted to reclassify to the 2021 class. He was once committed to Michigan State before decommitting and enrolling at Memphis after his reclassification.
he had an up-and-down freshman campaign with the Tigers. He opened the 2021-22 season scoring double figures in three straight games, only to reach that mark five times the rest of the year. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds over 18 total games and 13 starts, but also shot 38.6 percent from the field and had 42 turnovers to 23 assists.
The Ypsilanti, Mich. native missed the final nine games of the regular season and Memphis' three games in the AAC Tournament due to a lower back injury, even going back home to seek a second opinion. He came off the bench in the Tigers' two NCAA Tournament games against Boise State and Gonzaga, totaling eight points in 15 minutes played.
Louisville has just six returners from the 2021-22 season, a year where they went 13-19 for their first losing season in over two decades, and mutually separated with head coach Chris Mack. Sydney Curry, El Ellis, Mike James, Jae'Lyn Withers, J.J. Traynor and Roosevelt Wheeler all announced that they would return for next season.
Since being hired by the university on Mar. 18, new head coach Kenny Payne has slowly started to add to the Cardinals' 2022-23 roster. He added Tennessee transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and 2022 prospect Devin Ree, while also getting longtime commit Kamari Lands to sign his Letter of Intent.
(Photo of Emoni Bates: Joe Rondone / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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