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 threatened to kill Maryland’s coach”
Please don’t perpetuate this uncorroborated and likely false information. This supposed threat by Juwan towards Turgeon was “reported” by a single Maryland 247 reporter and was not substantiated in any way. It was also never picked up by any other affiliates, partisan or unaffiliated. It’s a stupid piece of misinformation that continues to run its treads through CBB fans who want to drag Juwan and Michigan.
Multiple occasions?
Or the ONE occasion that somehow has created the erroneous perception in your mind that he loses control consistently?
I expect Howard to have his 3rd and final blowup during the upcoming season.
I don't know how much currency Juwan still has with the administration. The Sweet 16 run was great, but that slap was still in the minds of a lot of people. I think Bates is worth the risk, but it's still a big risk.
Giving the best kid in the IM or CCRB a scholarship is better than bringing in the bates circus.
This would be a BIG "trust Juwan" scenario for me. I would not touch him with a 40,000' pole if it were me but Juwan is better at this than I am. Hopefully he is willing to give Emoni's family and, if it absolutely came down to it, Emoni the boot if needed.
Between taking Bates or standing pat, I would prefer to stand pat. He is ball dominant guy that doesn't shoot particularly well.
Man you would think this kid is out there kicking kittens or something. He and his camp realize now “this is it” so you will have his attention from the get go. By all accounts he’s not a bad guy. I think the mistake Penny made was having be the guy who initiated the offense thinking he would be a modern version of what Hardaway used to be. Think he would play off the ball here but having another creator out there would be a huge bonus to the squad.
He and his camp realize now “this is it” so you will have his attention from the get go.
Based on what? The fact that he was visiting Eastern Michigan makes it seem pretty clear that nothing has changed and that the demands from his camp are why no one else has shown interest.
The fact he was visiting Eastern is a positive in my opinion. Let’s consider your thought process. If EMU is the only one giving him “serious consideration” then he can’t have that huge of a demand and his options are shrinking by the day. Which means this could be a great scenario for Michigan by showing him that this could be his only shot at big time basketball next season.
I think it's the other way around. I think no one has been amenable to his camp's list of demands, but a program as moribund as Eastern may be willing to play ball and take the gamble.
Passing up a bird in hand. I guarantee Michigan isn't offering anything and EMU is. Under your scenario that would mean, come here earn it, go somewhere else have some guarantees. What would you do? They are missing a revenue stream currently
I know the competition was different, but the numbers between Houstan and Bates weren't that far off. Houstan's per game numbers were slightly better than Bates, but he also played, on average, 10 minutes more than Emoni. All I know is that if we take him, do it soon so he can spend as much time as possible at Camp Sanderson.
Their freshman-year numbers might be similar, but Houstan never demonstrated the type of play-making skills and three-level scoring ability that Bates showed.
Houstan was also a year older than Bates.
Im sorry, but what play-making skills has Bates ever shown? He averaged 1.3 assists to 2.3 turnovers playing in the AAC. In HS/AAU he was a ball dominant scorer who also put together less than 3 assists per game. I dont think play making or creation has or will, in the short term, be a strength of his game. He also struggled pretty mightily scoring at any level at Memphis with absolutely horrid shooting numbers across the board.
Emoni is light years better off the bounce than Caleb will ever be.
Isn't it obvious, its Michigan? He wants to come home, but is trying to make it on his terms.
I really don’t understand the hesitation to take a shot on him. The dude has crazy updside. If he doesn’t work out, let’s let him ride the bench and we’re in the exact same situation we are in now. But if he hits… hoo boy giddy up.
This is my logic as well…if it doesn’t work, what do we end up losing? We will have the same roster we have now.
That's where I am at as well. He's got the potential to be a 20-25 ppg guy and Michigan has the need.
The hesitation, true or not, is a belief in the team aspect of sports & nebulous concepts like chemistry, trust, & creating a family environment. The idea of a locker room "cancer" has been around for a long time, I'm curious as to how much effect such a person can have.
He could also make the team worse on the court by being a low efficiency ball hog that doesn't play defense like Russell Westbrook in the NBA. I'm more scared of that than locker room stuff.
Locker room chemistry and teamwork. Who wants to play with someone who only cares about themself and their draft status?
I keep hearing rumors about town that he practices at the EMU Convocation Center quite regularly lately, which by itself doesn't mean much as he is from the area, but all the same, I think this is one of those situations where the entire show, if you will, has to be worth it to a program for the on-court performance. I would think that if Juwan thought that it was, then they might find a way to make it happen, but it doesn't seem like they would naturally gravitate towards Bates.
I trust Juwan on what he wants to do here. He may be the exact coach Bates needs to become the best playing version of himself. Definitely a high risk, high reward kind of signing. If it doesn't pan out and he's a problem in the locker room, he could present a huge problem. But if he pans out, he could be a game-changer for Juwan's program.
Unsure how Juwan would handle Bates' dad undoubtedly trying to insert himself into the picture, but I'd like to believe that Bates' playing on this team would bring certain conditions about his ability to interact with the team or staff, if it was allowed at all.
I guess another question I'm really curious about: what is Bates' academic standing as far as being able to transfer in? Anyone have a clue into what kind of a student he is?
From reports I’ve seen, Bates dad & Coach Howard have known each other for years. There has to be mutual respect there and that might lend to him letting Juwan take the lead on guiding Emoni for next season.
We lost quite a bit of talent. I think it would be a good risk to take at this point.
I'd definitely take a flyer on him and think he could finally tap his potential under Howard.
I think Bates could be a good talent to have on the floor. However:
He likes to shoot 3's. He is not good at shooting 3's.
He likes to shoot low-percentage 2's.
He's a high volume, low-efficiency player who could turn a bad team with limited scoring options into a decent team because he WILL create his own shots and score. The problem is it just takes him a lot of shots to do so.
He would have to really commit to playing within a system to be useful to us. There is no question the kid has ability. I agree with some of the above takes that his freshman highlights show more than Houstan probably showed last year. But if he wants to be a low-efficiency chucker that isn't really going to help us. It would probably help Eastern.
I trust our coaching staff to fix those issues over whatever coaching he has received thus far in his life. He should know by now that he won't get drafted just because of his HS tape now.
I'm all in favor of this. The potential upside is much stronger than the potential downside.
I'm also encouraged by the leadership that Emoni Bates would encounter here.
And yes, while this is always Juwan's team, it's also important to look at which player will be leading the team, as well. Two years ago, it was Isaiah Livers' team, and things worked out pretty well. Last year, it was Eli's team, and maybe his quiet lead-by-example style wasn't the best fit with so many young guys on the team.
This coming year, it'll be Hunter's team. He's not going to be taking any shit.
Puzzled as to why people dont want him....would you rather have Tshetter? lmao
Because he (and mostly his dad) has been toxic. There's no coincidence that Memphis improved quickly once Bates got benched. There's a reason why no P5 schools are recruiting him from the portal and why EMU is his basically only option.
I'm aware of the Memphis had a better record when Emoni went out but were they actually a better team without him or were there multiple factors?
They were a better team without him. The fact that no P5 schools are actually recruiting him spoke volume about Emoni and his handlers.
Please god, no... 🤦
Michigan has not been recruiting him at all (same as for pretty much every P5 schools) FWIW. Michigan in play comes from Bates camp as a last chance of him being relevant in the recruiting world.
IMO, I never thought Bates was out of play the minute Caleb announced we was staying in the draft.
I keep seeing and hearing a reference to the "demands" being made by the family. Does anyone have specifics? Back in the day that could mean playing time, how they're going to use the player, and an amount in the bag. But I'm curious if this is now some of those things but also some specific NIL related things (the new bag). I didn't follow his recruitment and only know of the the circus everyone mentions, nothing specific so I'm just curious what's known and what's speculated around the demands.
I'll hang up and listen.
Aside from the various financial “perks” granted by Memphis last year, I am certain I saw that Emoni’s camp/dad demanded to be present for every practice and workout with the team last year.
Good luck coaching a kid in that situation— not to mention the chemistry issues it would cause within the team.
Thanks. Had not heard about the practice thing. I've coached grade school hoops and I hate when parents are there, and 99% of the time it's harmless because they just want to watch their kid. Can't imagine how much a college coach must hate this crap.
This is easily my least favorite definition of “camp”.
*alludes
So, do we really want to be the joke program that takes this kid? Has no one paid attention???
As soon as that kid steps on campus, Michigan basketball would be labeled, "desperate." He got thrown off his last team, no body wants to play with him, and no other teams have jumped at the chance.
Also, academics? This kid doesn't even have a proper high school diploma, let alone progress at the last college he attended.
Hard pass.
Yes- because most of the better players that go to college to play basketball are definitely thinking about academics first... right...
Who gives a shit what other people think about him or the program? If it works, it works.
Agree - there's some upside to be had for being able to deal with a primadonna... these guys who are a handful tend to also be pretty good. I dont want to become a school that focuses on them, but if we can handle the occasional and he gives some output, im in.. there are no rules anymore. Win, don't break the *actual* law, and fix the Crisler arena.. that place sucks! Bring the students down low
For factual accurate information…he was never kicked off the team. In fact he played in both of Memphis’ tourney games.
I want him here.
The risk/reward swings too far in favor of the reward.
If he doesn't pan out, oh well- the team is not going to reach the goals they wanted- losing Houstan and Diabate was relatively substantial- this would be an opportunity to fill in a gap.
If he does- they could get to the Final 4. Howard is the perfect guy to sit down with the family and basically tell them "i'm not putting up with any bs- it's my team, if you guys don't like that, go somewhere else."
I think it's neat that, from what 57% of posters on this thread have said, that Bates is part of a circus. That's so cool! I say we take him and the rest of his fellow castmembers can perform at halftime. That would be lit!
