Emoni Bates Enters 2023 NBA Draft

Eastern Michigan sophomore guard/forward Emoni Bates has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Bates, 19, is 6-foot-9 and was once considered among the top three or four high school prospects in the country. He was in the eighth grade when he received a full scholarship offer from DePaul.

But college has been a different story, as Bates played for coach Penny Hardaway and Memphis as a freshman, before transferring to Eastern Michigan, a member of the Mid-American Conference.

He averaged 19.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Eagles, once scoring 29 straight points in a half (vs. Toledo, Jan. 29). Interestingly, those were the only 29 points Bates scored in the half — as he finished with 432 in an 84-79 loss.

As good as Bates could be, he also disappeared in other games. One source who watched Eastern Michigan play Akron described Bates’ performance to Hoops Wire as “nondescript.”

ESPN has him ranked 56th on their list of best available draft prospects.

Eastern Michigan sophomore Emoni Bates has entered the 2023 NBA Draft, Bates told @TheAthletic @Stadium. Bates, 19, was the top high school recruit, and played at University of Memphis in 2021-22 and EMU in 2022-23. He averaged 19.2 points at EMU. pic.twitter.com/mYADXZDdyh

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 24, 2023