Memphis freshman Emoni Bates, a former No. 1 recruit, announced Saturday that he plans to enter the transfer portal.
“I want to thank Coach Penny [Hardaway], my teammates and the entire University of Memphis coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to be a tiger,” Bates wrote on Instagram. With this in mind, I decided to enter the transfer portal. Thanks!”
Bates, a 6-foot-9-small forward from Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been considered one of the top high school basketball players in recent years. He was ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2022 throughout his high school career before being reclassified to the Class of 2021 last summer and graduating at No. 3.
He originally signed for Michigan State in the summer of 2020 before resuming his enlistment in April 2021. For most of high school, Bates generally expected to skip college and choose to play professionally. But he went through legitimate recruiting this past spring and summer, eventually signing for Memphis in late August.
Bates had an inconsistent freshman season with the Tigers. He opened his collegiate career with 17 points on his debut against Tennessee Tech, followed by 15 against North Carolina Central and 16 against Saint Louis. Bates hit double digits just five times the rest of the season and failed to score more than 13 points in any other game.
He also missed 15 of 33 games with a back injury that forced him to return home to Michigan to see a specialist.
Bates finished his freshman season averaging 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Since Bates turned 18 in January, he is ineligible for the 2022 NBA draft. Besides moving to another school, he could also decide to play in the G League or for Overtime Elite for a year before moving to the NBA.