Top Recruit Emoni Bates Verbally Commits to Michigan State
The Big Ten potentially landed its biggest recruit in a long while Monday afternoon, as 2022 phenom Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) announced on SportsCenter that he will be attending Michigan State.
The No. 1 ranked player in his class, and arguably the highest-touted prospect since LeBron James, verbally committed to the Spartans surrounded by family. A 6-8, 200-pound small forward, Bates won Gatorade National Player of the Year honors last year as a sophomore when his Lincoln squad went 19-3 overall.
Bates, who has already spearheaded Lincoln to a state title, had one outing of 63 points and 21 rebounds in a double-overtime affair.
“I’m not sure what the future may hold but, as I do know right now, I will be committing to Michigan State University,” Bates told SportsCenter.
The 2022 standout may never play college basketball, with the possibility existing of taking a lucrative G-League contract for one year or the NBA's "one-and-done" rule being removed altogether by the that time. There has also been speculation that Bates, who may be in position to graduate high school at the end of his junior year, could end up reclassifying to 2021.
Wildy enough, Bates is listed to have just five offers (courtesy of 247Sports) due to many schools believing he will opt for some professional route prior to the NBA transition. Additional offers besides MSU have come from Kentucky, Michigan, Florida State and DePaul.
"I am big on loyalty, and they (MSU) have been showing me loyalty since the seventh grade," Bates added about the Spartans. They have shown that they love me, genuinely, and have been here for a long time."
Bates has a longstanding recruitment relationship with Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo, who was recently named the Big Ten Coach of the Decade. His Spartans made the 2019 NCAA Final Four.
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