NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from Emoni Bates shocking transfer to Eastern Michigan

Where do the “other” teams in the mix go after not landing Emoni Bates

I discussed before about the six teams that were originally in the mix for Bates when he announced a final list, but also a couple of rumored options (Illinois, return to Memphis) that came up in the past couple of weeks.

Three of them (Arkansas, DePaul, and Seton Hall) were never truly in the mix so there was no need to worry about them. The other two that didn’t get Bates (Michigan and Louisville) were not only reportedly in the mix but at one point in the offseason looked like they would sign him.

After losing both Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, the Wolverines had multiple roster spots open. But they went a different direction, landing Duke sharpshooter Joey Baker, as well as freshman forward Youssef Khayat from Lebanon.

That took them out of the picture but Louisville never did add anyone else, still with several spots open on its own roster. They still have just one true guard on its roster (El Ellis) and could’ve used Bates as a starting shooting guard but for one reason or another, the sides never came to an agreement. Of all the teams involved in the process, the Cardinals have to be the biggest loser in this saga because they don’t have a true Plan B going forward.

And as far as Memphis goes, they recently landed a pair of big guards in Emmanuel Akot and Keonte Kennedy. So their own roster is set and can move on from Bates as well.