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Having a player decommit this late in a recruiting cycle is very rare.
Yet somehow, Kentucky losing Nolan Hickman wasn’t the biggest decommitment on the final Friday of April.
Emoni Bates, whom many regard as the best player in all of high school hoops, is now back on the market, as he’s backing off his pledge to the Michigan State Spartans.
Breaking: Emoni Bates tells me he’s decided to reopen his recruitment and will decommit from Michigan State. Open to both college and pro options.
— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) April 30, 2021
#1 Ranked Prospect in the 2022 Class.
The 6-8, 200-pound small forward from Michigan wasn’t heavily recruited by anyone other than the Spartans when he initially committed, as the expectation is Bates will ultimately skip college and go with a professional route, perhaps the NBA G-League.
The No. 1 overall prospect in 2022 actually holds a scholarship offer from Kentucky, but even John Calipari wasn’t heavily focusing on Bates prior to his brief pledge to the Spartans.
One thing that has changed since then is the Name, Image and Likeness bills being introduced, which could allow Bates to go to college and make money off his likeness. I’d still bet on Bates skipping college, but there’s a path for him to play college basketball and get paid like a pro.
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