Emoni Bates sounds unlikely to choose Louisville, seems Michigan is back in play
Was scrolling down the timeline on twitter and came across this tweet. It features an audio clip from a Louisville sports radio station that basically eludes to Emoni not wanting to go to Louisville anymore. Their thought is that after seeing Caleb Houstan stay in the draft he is more inclined to pursue an opportunity to play at Michigan again. I think that between all the options on the board now, Emoni may be the best get this late in the game. If he was humbled by his year at Memphis I think he can be a good player for the team next season. One thing is for sure, he is a gym rat and is constantly working on his game in the off-season.
https://twitter.com/aaronklein_/status/1536868511498346497?s=21&t=VGOV7fdJeppVG4nQayvQhw
He would be a GREAT signing. Juwan will be a great mentor and coach for him, theres no question he is still highly respected in the NBA.
I don't get all the negativity against him. Looking at what's remaining in the portal, signing Bates is the only chance this team has at being a B1G/Final Four contender next year. If Houstan or Diabate had stayed, you could rely on their development to push the team to the next level.
We have extra scholarships, and he is likely done after this year. So if he flames out in dramatic fashion, who cares? We're back to being a 8/9 seed.
I think it started with his Dad starting an all star travel team to showcase his sons skills. Then they wanted him to run the point over Jaden Akins who is a much better 4* point guard. Akins commits to MSU so Bates decommit, or crosses them off, probably due to bad blood.
Then he goes to Memphis to form another high profile team and the team plays awful basketball until Bates get injured and then the team starts to roll without him in the lineup.
Maturity and the right mentor can do wonders for a person. He hasn’t done anything irredeemable but it’s always wise to look at the big picture and do what you think is best for the program. That may include bringing him on board. The potential is intriguing.
You don't get the negativity?
He was a legit bad basketball player last year. 91 Ortg, a True Shooting % under 50 (second lowest on the team - very bad), no defense, no rebounding. He was the only player on Memphis to have a negative Box Plus/Minus.
His team was 12-3 without him and only 10-8 with him (per Alex). Through January with him in the lineup, they were ranked 65th on Torvik. From February onward, without him in the lineup, they were the 6th (!!!) best team in the country. Can you say massive anchor?
The reason it matters if he flames out is that it's unlikely he's significantly better than the awful he was last year and so you're either going to have a potential attitude problem if he doesn't play or you burn inefficient minutes if he does play.
The better question is, why is there any positivity around this guy? Just because he was an early bloomer and highly rated when he was a sophomore in HS? The guy hasn't done anything since then. He just highly unlikely to be a decent basketball player next year so no thanks.
And that's to say nothing of potential off-court issues.
We also don't have a big need at his position, IMO. Jett, Twill, even Jace and maybe Barnes are guys preferable to him at the wing. We need a guard and a big.
Jett may be the only true 3 on the team next season. T-Will is a 4 and has been best in that role. Furthermore, why do you think at 18 years old that he’s a finished product. The 4 guys you mentioned played less than Emoni last year, yet you’re ultra confident they will be better. We’re talking about adding a talent with upside. Tell me who you want instead then.
I agree that Twill is a four, but he played a lot of three last year and he played it far more effectively than Bates.
Never said anything close to him being a finished product, just that it's unlikely he goes from where he was last year (putrid) to better than Michigan's current options. That's a huge leap. It's possible but it's not likely.
I would rather take no one than him. He was an anchor that dragged Memphis down. He is likely to be a net negative. There is addition by subtraction and there is subtraction by addition.
Do not want.
I'm with Rob. Obviously, airily writing off 18-year-old and sneering down your nose at them is a luxury the average anonymous fan can afford themselves--world's full of it, we know. But he didn't go from being someone touted good enough to step to the NBA after a year to human garbage in a year. Get him away from his father and into the appropriate environment and who's to say what he's capable of? Thankfully, it will be Juwan's decision and not yours. I've seen so many f**ls write off so many of these kids over the last decade that it isn't funny. The truth is that you don't really know jack about this kid's capabilities or mindset; it's all palaver--and palaver of a quite common Puritanical and censorious kind.
Michigan being a Final Four team is fantasy. Four new starters doesn’t equate to that type of success.
Be a good test of what Juwan is all about, and I dare say that coach would pass with flying colors.
Wait, do we like him now? All so confusing...
Agree. This is fast becoming one of the legendary " is he or is he not coming here" sagas we all remember but have to dwell on forever:
Terrel Pryor, D'shawn Hand, Malik McDowell, Najee Harris , Tyus Battle - feel free to add other names.
CJ Carr?
Diggs?
Jai Eugene, Jason Richardson....
There's a lot of reason's to consider him a red flag, without a doubt. I think the question is will the (likely) one season you get out of him be better or worse off with him on the team? Juwan knows him already and may feel like he can get the best out of Emoni. Too hard to say from the outside if its a good move or not.
I trust Juan's judgement here, but if he's wrong and Emoni is locker room poison, it's going to be a really bad look.
Who is this Juan you speak of, and his judgement similar to Juwan's? I'll hang up and listen
He's a guy who can't spell or read good. I'll take the L
Should've taken a W
Undervalued Comment +1
He turned the L into a W.
+1 for owning up...most people would've blamed it on autocorrect!
Sauce Castillo's cousin
It’s Juan Mo’Time.
And if you only get one season out of him, does his addition drive a potential multi-season asset to the portal? If so, it drives up the need for ROI in that one season.
There is always that risk, but attrition could come regardless so that shouldn’t be a deciding factor.
Maybe not "deciding factor" but still part of the evaluation of the risk/reward. You can definitely factor in impact on chemistry, transfer impact, etc. along with his talent and potential.
I prefer to worry about next year next year but if Emoni is one and done at Michigan for good reasons then Juwan has proof of concept to land any 5 stars coming off of tough freshman seasons.
Given that Michigan admissions pretty much dictates transfers will be grads or rising sophomores..I think that would be very good.
I get why some have a fascination with Bates but I just don't see how it makes sense for Michigan. I view the worst case scenario with Bates as: bad teammate, bad defender and a ball hog that isn't bad enough to stick on the end of the bench but isn't as good as he (and his dad) thinks that he is. Once Big Ten season gets rolling some hangnail turns into a season ending injury and that is the last we see of him. The minutes Howard could have given to another player to prep them better went to someone that doesn't give a crap about the name on the front of the jersey and Michigan has a rough go of it and the end of the season.
On the other hand, perhaps Emoni and his dad have been humbled a bit and he comes in with a better attitude; he is more willing to be a complete player and is able to put his vast skills to use in a system that is best for the team. He remains healthyish but still bolts at the end of the season.
I will of course to cede to the coaches, but I think the former is a realistic scenario more so than the latter or anything in between. When the best case scenario involves him staying healthy, eating a large piece of humble pie but still bolting at the end of the year I do not see how the risk / reward helps Michigan but that's just me.
I think Louisville turned him down, not the other way around.
I get get intel on this via someone who was close to whole thing in Ypsilanti, and the story is Michigan has to want him first. I think they might look at that again if their top targets don't work out, but only if they get some strong assurances that the circus doesn't come as well. I think Emoni's always liked Michigan, but he doesn't run that show, and having that show at your program isn't worth what Bates brings as a basketball player.
He'll end up at EMU. He has a good offer to go there
Really it may not be a bad landing spot. Get all the run he wants, close to home, low pressure to win. Could be worse.
This time, it's the profile pic that checks out.
What top targets are out there? Nance seems to be headed to UNC, Grandison pledged to Duke and Joey Baker is on a visit to GW right now. It’s very slim pickings at the moment. Let’s not hold an 18 year old kid to his worse moments, he could be a huge help to the program next season for a position that is lacking depth.
I believe “the circus” isn’t the 18yo kid, but more so the people he’d bring into the picture with him.
Thus the meaning of the word circus.
If Bates were someone you could bring in as depth I would agree with your sentiment more. But if he isnt starting with 30+ mpg its going to be a huge issue with his camp. He was an absolutely terrible college basketball player in his time at Memphis. Perhaps, PERHAPS, if you could work him into the lineup off the bench and slowly integrate him with the team it would be a good pickup. But that isn't going to fly with the Bates camp.
The potential to make the team significantly worse with him on the roster is just as high, if not higher, than the positive potential he brings. Not to mention that could push TWill out; who I would certainly take over Emoni.
Good info (as always) Seth
I would want to clarify from the OP that - from all I have seen - M may be reconsidering Emoni not the other way around. It is the fact the Houstan left for the draft that has opened the door a bit from Michigan’s perspective. All reports from earlier were that EB and camp were showing interest in M but it wasn’t reciprocated.
Having played with Penny and Wallace in the league for as long as he did my guess is Juwan has an inside track into what he does and does not bring. Sounds like you have to draw a pretty hard line with the family and the family has to trust the coaches to do what is best. Either way hope the kid figures it out, seems to have a ton of ability.
He seems like a perfect candidate for the G league. Do they not want him?
My guess is he figures that NIL will pay him way more than the G League. Maybe he still wants to be a kid in school.
I thought for some reason he was still too young for the G-league. He left HS a year early.
Maybe that was last year. Seems like it'd be an option now.
He was too young for the NBA. He could’ve went to the G-League last year, just would’ve had to play 2 seasons with the Ignite.
At this point in the game, are we going to get a better player out of the portal than Bates? I'm doubtful. I'm hesitant to accept the circus that comes with bringing his father into the program also, but if anyone can handle that, it's Juwan.
It's nice to be able to trust the head coach in this situation. I assume he won't be coming to Michigan because Juwan doesn't want the circus. If he does come to Michigan, I would have confidence that Juwan has established expectations, knows what is coming and will handle the situation appropriately.
My money still says no Emoni in Ann Arbor.
I'm not sure why we default to "if anyone can handle it it's Juwan."
Juwan has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he can lose control in a way that is unbecoming of a head coach at university such as ours. Dealing with the circus that is the Bates family could be taxing and distracting and probably cause emotions to run high at times.
I love Juwan and hope he grows and better represents UM moving forwards. Nevertheless the whole "if anyone can handle it" thing is laughable.
Total 3rd rate BS....Anyone still holding that incident over his head is probably just trolling.
Juwan has been in this game at the highest level his entire life so he's certainly has had to deal with some extremely intense situations and complex personalities. And by all indications he is absolutely LOVED and respected by those he's played with and coached. So, yeah, my bet is that he will be as good as anyone when it comes to managing, coaching and preparing Emoni for the next level.
Agree with your take, LDN.
Coach Howard has the credibility of 30+ years of success as a college and NBA player, NBA assistant coach, and college head coach.
If anyone can crecibly tell the Bates circus members that - if they want Emoni to reach his potential and be a success - they need to get the fuck out of the way, it's Coach Howard.
I can't imagine that Emoni and his "team" aren't humbled by what's happened over the past year. They've got to realize that their way hasn't worked...so it might be time to listen to someone who knows just a bit about what success in college and NBA hoops looks like.
I can't imagine that Emoni and his "team" aren't humbled by what's happened over the past year. They've got to realize that their way hasn't worked...so it might be time to listen to someone who knows just a bit about what success in college and NBA hoops looks like.
Never underestimate some people's ability to never learn from nor be humbled by anything, ever.
To be fair, there were two incidents, not one. He threatened to kill Maryland's coach.