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Memphis Basketball: Analyzing Emoni Bates’ play in first 6 games of 2021-22

By Caleb Hightower

Memphis Tigers guard Emoni Bates talks to Head Coach Penny Hardaway on the sidelines during their game against the Saint Louis Billikens at FedExForum on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.Bk3i7081
Memphis Tigers guard Emoni Bates talks to Head Coach Penny Hardaway on the sidelines during their game against the Saint Louis Billikens at FedExForum on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.Bk3i7081 /
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Emoni Bates Memphis Basketball (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
Emoni Bates Memphis Basketball (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

Memphis basketball has started the 2021-22 season with a 5-1 record, and Emoni Bates is certainly responsible for some of the Tigers’ early success. The 6’9” freshman guard is currently averaging 12.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. In high school, Bates originally committed to Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans in the summer of 2020, but he de-committed from the elite power 5 program less than a year later.

After Bates’ junior season at Ypsi Prep Academy concluded, he announced that he would be reclassifying into the class of 2021 and choosing between Oregon, Memphis, Michigan State (which is a school that I doubted he would recommit to), and the G-League. Ultimately, the former Michigan State commit elected to take his talents to Memphis and become the second 5-star recruit to join Penny Hardaway and company this season (Jalen Duren was the first).

With the addition of Bates in late August, the Tigers were able to go into the 2021-22 season with a loaded roster and a #12 ranking in the AP Top 25. Although Bates is just 17 years old and ineligible for the 2022 NBA draft, he has already shown why many analysts view him as a bonified lottery pick in the following year’s draft.

With that being said, some of Bates’ weaknesses have been exposed this season, and in order for you to get a clear picture of where Bates currently is as a player, I must examine both the positive and negative aspects of his game in this article (starting with the positives).