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

The Bad

First things first, Penny Hardaway’s offense has little to no structure and doesn’t force defenses to be on their best behavior at all times.

As a result of this, there have been many times where the Tigers have turned the ball over or taken a bad shot before Bates even had a chance to touch the ball. I think that because Bates is such a young player, he feels the need to press when he hasn’t been involved in the Tigers’ offense for a while.

Listen, I understand that Bates is a special offensive player, but shooting off-balance jumpers and/or runners while falling away from the basket is not the correct way to go about trying to get yourself going offensively. Yes, Hardaway has to do a much better job of setting his players up for success, but for the time being, Bates should rely heavily on ball screens to get himself free on the perimeter (which will take some much-needed pressure off him as a wing scoring threat).

We all know that he is capable of hitting pull-up jumpers that have a high degree of difficulty, but it’s important for him to learn that when you’ve gone 2-3 minutes without a touch, you must generate easy scoring opportunities for yourself when you finally receive the ball. After all, high-level scorers tend to heat up quicker when they are able to walk into open jumpers, not when they settle for low-percentage prayers.

As it relates to Bates’ play against physical defenders in the half-court, I think that his weak upper body is hindering him from consistently staying upright during his drives and maintaining full control of the ball. On more than one occasion this season, Bates has gotten bumped off his spot, bobbled the ball, and thrown a sloppy pass to a teammate that got tipped or stolen. I’m confident that he’ll get stronger eventually, but I think he’ll continue to struggle against aggressive defenders until he is physically able to deal with that kind of pressure.

Needless to say, Bates is clearly still a work in progress, but if he finds a way to succeed in Penny Hardaway’s chaotic offensive system, I definitely believe that he’ll earn a ton of respect from his doubters. The 2021-22 season is still young, so all we can do now is sit back and watch the talented freshman develop over time.