Overview:

Emoni Bates is a slender shot making wing.  Very young for his class, Bates has deep range and boundless shooter’s confidence.   Bates is a prime candidate as a  “draft and stash” prospect for teams with the patience to wait for his body to fill out. His extremely slender frame is offset by his young age.  Bates will have difficulty holding his ground against NBA wings.  Seems to have put past off-court trouble behind and performed well enough to quell lingering skepticism about his temperament to be an NBA player.

NBA Skill: Floor spacer

Offense

Emoni Bates has the potential to be a superior Spot Up Wing.  While his 3FG% was just 33% he shot an extremely high 7.7 3FGA.  His shooting stroke can be inconsistent in his footwork and shooting mechanics.  In addition, Bates’ shooting efficiency is negatively affected by his bad shot selection.  But when he has it going, he is a shot maker.  He had the ultra green light on his Central Michigan team which was both good and bad for team success.  Bates is used to being the focal point of every team he has played.  It remains to be seen if he can adjust to a secondary role but his attitude during the combine was positive and he showed real leadership.

Bates will need to improve his cutting and finishing at the rim.  This should improve with adding size to his frame and playing elevated competition.  Right now, it is a question if Bates is a winning player that produces great stats in his young career.  He was not impactful on an underperforming Memphis team his freshman year.  Central Michigan was 8-23 with Bates starting 29 of 31 games, averaging 33.8 MPG.   

Bates excels in the play types that NBA wings are expected to run.  Most importantly he is efficient in those play types. The signals that Bates has a role on an NBA team as a floor spacer.

Assists and Decision Making

Emoni Bates’ decision making needs to improve.  His assists are low because his primary role for Central Michigan was to score.  Still, given his future role as a second side floor spacer, Bates will need to be more of a connective playmaker at the next level as he will likely not be a primary option in the beginning of his NBA career.  Turnovers were also a problem for Bates, defenders found success being handsy and physical against Bates.  He will need to get stronger to hold up against the elevated physicality of the NBA.

Bates needs to improve on the defensive end of the floor.  Once he adds size to his frame he will have the tools to be a plus defender.  He underperformed in rebounding.  Just elevating his ball pursuit should produce better rebounding production.  Steals and blocks are also below average for drafted wings.  These are areas that are definitely holding Bates back from being a winning player.

Rebounding and defense

Bates needs to improve on the defensive end of the floor.  Once he adds size to his frame he will have the tools to be a plus defender.  He underperformed in rebounding.  Just elevating his ball pursuit should produce better rebounding production.  Steals and blocks are also below average for drafted wings.  These are areas that are definitely holding Bates back from being a winning player.

Projection: Late second round

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Evaluation date: October 22, 2022

Emoni Bates is a shot making wing with supreme confidence.  Bates is a long wing with excellent shooting form and supreme confidence. His handle is exceptional for a 6’9” player.  He has guard skills and a crafty pull up that rises effortlessly over defenders.  Bates will need to add size to his very slender frame to have a chance at defending or scoring at the NBA level.  Decision making in shot selection will need to improve. Due to injury he played only 18 of 33 games during the 2021-21 season. Bates transferred from Memphis to Eastern Michigan for his sophomore season.  Off court issues, temporarily paused participation in the season have resolved themselves.

NBA skill:  Shooting potential

Offense:

Emoni Bates is a shooter.  Supremely confident, his float dribble set up to get to his pull is elite.  When he is on, he can be unstoppable.   

However, Bates’ effort is inconsistent. Bates runs with urgency on offense but is lackadaisical when getting back on defense.  This is a common habit of players who have always been the leading player on their teams.  This won’t work in college or at the next level.  

Bates has an effortless shooting stroke.  Fundamentally, he has solid shooting technique. He is inconsistent in holding his follow through. And yet, he shot just 38 / 32 / 64.  Doesn’t matter how your shot looks, it’s not valuable unless it goes in.  

Bates shooting inefficiency isn’t technique, it’s shot selection.  He takes a lot of contested shots.  When 67% of his total shots are jumpers defenders can load up on contesting the inevitable jumpers.  Bates has the skill to get to the rim but his slight frame causes him to shy away from attacking the basket.  This is evidenced by his 2.7 FTA and made worse by shooting only 64% FT%.   He will need to establish a willingness to become an advantage scorer that can use his length to score. 

Bates was Below Average in Spot Ups (.93 Points Per Play), and Poor in Pick and Roller Handler (.65 PPP), and Poor in Transition (.86 PPP) in the 2021-22 season. With production like this, Bates will need to rediscover how to merge his immense  basketball scoring talent so he can impact winning.  If Bates’ shooting comes around, he might be betters served by playing off the ball as more of a Spot Up option.

Wanna sees:

Improve three point shooting

Improved free throw shooting 

Improved play making efficiency

Assists and Decision Making

Bates has the potential to be a solid playmaker.  With his length, handle and shooting ability he has the foundation to be a great playmaker in the mold of other long wings.  Unfortunately, there isn’t enough “want to” as Bates tends to prioritize scoring over playmaking.  Bates is also “upside down” on his AST/TOV ratio and will certainly need to value each possession more before he can take a viable step toward playing at the next level.

Wanna See:

Dramatic decrease in turnovers

Increase in assists and facilitating plays for teammates

Rebounding and defense

Bates does not rebound well for someone with his size and length.  He would rather leak out and score in transition than help with rebounding. 

Defensively, he lacks urgency.  Averaging about one steal every TWO games and about 1 block for every THREE games is a nonstarter to play at the next level    

Wanna see

Defensive commitment

Increase in blocks

Increase in steals

Tier of 2023 draft prediction: Return for junior season

Check out our latest preseason evaluation – Emoni Bateshttps://t.co/BIVW9Yrr0g pic.twitter.com/hwQVOZ7Kis

— Bball IQ (@bballiq1) October 7, 2022