National Recruit Tamar Bates Has Rush of New Suitors, Including UW
Texas basketball commit Tamar Bates has reopened his college recruiting after coach Shaka Smart jumped from the Longhorns to Marquette, with some calling Smart's actions a pre-emptive move to keep from getting fired.
Either way, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Kansas City by way of Florida's IMG Academy left no mystery whatsoever for his actions.
"For me it was pretty simple," Bates said. "I committed to Coach Smart, not Texas."
So will he end up at Marquette, following Smart to the Milwaukee school?
"I wanted to play for a black coach," Bates said, referring to the racial climate in America, "with everything that is going on."
Of course, the left-hander has unlimited choices once more, now that he's publicly distanced himself from Texas.
Gonzaga, which has a lot of street cred, and even more following Jalen Suggs' shot heard round the Final Four world, reportedly is in the mix.
So are Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama and Tennessee.
And a most curious option, according to reports: Washington.
Can you imagine trying to convince one of the nation's top basketball players to join the Huskies following a 5-21 season?
And after six players fled coach Mike Hopkins' program to the transfer portal without looking back?
What a tough sell that is.
The UW has so few scholarship players on campus right now — five — it couldn't even hold a meaningful scrimmage in Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies have five scholarships available, so it's admirable they might be shooting for top-tier talent these days.
But with five current openings, it hardly gives a prospective recruit any firm idea of what he might be getting into at the UW — other than a yearly game on the schedule against Gonzaga that has never gone well.
And, with Husky rebuilding efforts appearing somewhat overwhelming, the next UW-Zags matchup probably won't be settled by a half-court last-second shot.
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