Emoni Bates has been considered one of the best up-and-coming talents in basketball for the last few years. The 6’9″, 201-pound Bates is considered by many to be the second best player in the 2022 class, as the first player to ever when the Gatorade National Boy’s Player of the Year award as a sophomore, and might be a future No. 1 overall pick.
Bates, however, has decided to reclassify and will either enroll in college this fall and play for one of Michigan State, Oregon or Memphis, or join the NBA G League Ignite squad. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman broke the news on Wednesday:
Bates will not turn 19 until Jan. 28, 2023 – which means he is not eligible for next year’s NBA Draft.
Bates told me he will take this year by year and re-evaluate after this season wherever he goes, but there is a chance that if he goes to college, he’ll be there for 2 years. https://t.co/83aa2Olo8W
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 4, 2021
The kicker here is that, because Bates (who is currently 17) will not turn 19 until early 2023, he is not eligible for next year’s 2022 NBA Draft. As a result, he is likely to spend two years wherever he decides to play next, be it the G League or in college.
Bates, with the new NCAA name, image and likeness rules, is in a prime position to profit off of his name is he decides to go to college. And if he goes to the G League, he can draw endorsements on top of a salary while playing with other top prospects like Sterling “Scoot” Henderson (who also reclassified) and Michael Foster with the Ignite. So, even though he’s still two years away from the NBA, he maximizes his earning potential either through NIL deals as a college athlete or getting paid and getting sponsorships in the G League.
Bates’ situation feels similar to Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers, who also recently reclassified in order to pick up what is reported to be 7-figures in NIL deals in Columbus.
This also could be a fascinating experience for Bates and for fans to watch unfold. If he goes the college route, Bates would likely be one of the few highly recruited players to stay in school for more than a year. It could, at least for a high level prospect, play a part in changing the way some players approach going to college now that they are able to profit off of their own name and likeness.
