Memphis freshman forward Emoni Bates has announced that he is transferring away from the Memphis Tigers program. He is not yet old enough to enter the NBA so he will have to head to the NBA G League or another college basketball program. It is also possible that he plays overseas as well. A rocky first year at Memphis including time away from the program indicated that Bates would be moving on from the program after one year. He will surely have plenty of interest while in the transfer portal.
Memphis basketball freshman Emoni Bates, a former No. 1 recruit, announced Saturday he plans to enter the transfer portal.
More ?? https://t.co/csxf1ZHqvx pic.twitter.com/2xzs0ts9yi
— ESPN (@espn) April 16, 2022
The standout high school prospect was once the number one recruit in the 2022 class, but reclassified to the 2021 class and committed to the Memphis Tigers. In his single season with Memphis, he averaged 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He paired those numbers with a sub-par field goal percentage of 38.6 percent and a three-point percentage of 32.9 percent. Overall it appears that the former standout prospect needs some sort of change of scenery. Things were not working out with Memphis and now he will play elsewhere next season.
Emoni Bates with the vision ?
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) November 20, 2021
There is still plenty of time for Emoni Bates to reconnect with the player he was in high school. Wherever he ends up next season his goals will be focused on improving and maintaining his draft stock in the 2023 NBA Draft. Players with high expectations like Bates struggle sometimes early on, but it is important to remember he is younger than most college basketball players. This upcoming season would have been his first season in college had he not reclassfied.
