Second game of a DH with the women playing CMU at 1:00. Either a men’s or women’s ticket is good for both games. Know that this is a chance to see a young developing future NBA player. 6-10 sophomore wing Emoni Bates plays in the style of Kevin Durant. A couple of years ago at least one site ranked him the #1 prospect in the country. He went to Memphis for a year, it did not work out, and he transferred back home to Ypsilante. He has been wildly inconsistent, almost leading Eastern to a win over Michigan, scoring 36 at South Carolina, and in his last game he had 43 at Toledo. He is averaging a little over 20 ppg but has been shut down several times.
EMU also has 6-2 sophomore guard Noah Farrakahn who is only averaging 12.9ppg, down from last year. A third sophomore starter is guard Tyson Acuff who average 12.4ppg.
About Bates 43 point game at Toledo Tuesday night ( they lost by 5), it was two point off the Savage Hall scoring record, a game I attended, in which Ron Harper had 45 points in the semifinals of the MAC tournament against Ball State, the game in which Cardinals star Dan Polumbisio, in the first minute of the game, came over to Harper and said, “tonight we will see who is the best player in the MAC”.
Bates 43 was the highest scoring game in the MAC this year, and the 6th highest in the nation. At one point in the first half, he had 27 consecutive Eastern points.
Eastern is a very young team, but does not lack talent. If they stay together, they could be really good in the next two years.
EMU and Miami are tied for last place at 1-6. We played pretty well at Akron, but did not step up and make enough big plays late ( same thing could be said about Eastern against Toledo) and lost our 4th game in a row. It does appear that we play better when we can change a game to a half court battle, which is probably not what Eastern wants to do. Who controls pace of play might determine who wins. Who guards Bates??
Maybe depends on who he listens too. Staying at Eastern is what he should do. They have a good coach in Stan Heath. Bates has some holes in his game, he should take another year an upgrade his game. Maybe two?
I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in college, but does a player of his ability want to play for such a bad team? Miami has lost several players recently who aren’t NBA prospects. Maybe since he’s from there he’ll stay?
Between him, Farrakhan, and a couple power conference transfers they brought in, they were getting preseason buzz as a tournament contender. I doubt he has any interest in sticking around for a 4 win team that’s outside the top 300 nationally. If he can keep putting up big numbers, I assume someone in the NBA will take a flyer on him, which is presumably the route he would go.
Dick–I appreciate your comments and posts. They are always informative and on point…
However, your comment about Bates’ 43 and Harp is just a little factually incorrect. Yes, Harp had a huge game at Toledo on 2-5-86 when he scored 41. I was at the game as well. Sports Illustrated had a reporter at the game and wrote an article on Harp. His game was incredible and received a great deal of recognition. However, the Dan Palumbizio game was Harp’s 45 against BSU in the MAC tourney at NIU. I attended that game as well. Earlier that day, Harp was named MAC POY and DPOY. A couple minutes into the game, Palumbizio, nice suntan and all, scored a couple early baskets. He did make that comment to Harp (I was told by Coach Hedric). Thereafter, Harp outscored him something like 45-6 the rest of the game.
Two amazing performances by one of the best college players I have ever seen. In fact, the SI college bball writer traveled the country one entire season and watched as many college bball games as he could. At the end of the year, he summarized his experiences. And, he named the best player he saw all season–Ron Harper.
I was also at the Toledo game. I was chosen to shoot free throws at half time. The sponsor was a jeweler. I had a Miami sweatshirt on and was roundly booed by the majority of the arena. I made 5/5 and won a gift certificate. My wonderful wife spent much more than the value of the certificate on a tennis bracelet the next week. The person who chose me to shoot was one of my ex high school players. He said he had confidence in me.
I also remember the SI photographer and a local photographer getting into a scuffle under the basket for the best position to photograph the game.
If I were advising Bates, the NBA would be down the list. I’d be looking to finish the year out strong, go in the portal and transfer back up. He’d probably make more with NIL money than where he would get drafted.
As for the game today, he’ll probably get his points. I hope we make him work on defense. Eastern wants to get the ball and score. They’re just as bad as us defensively. Opponents are shooting 60% on 2s against Eastern!
You might be hard pressed to find a matchup between 2 worse defensive teams than our game today…
I’ve watched EMU/Bates a couple times. Eastern is a horrible basketball team. They play AAU ball, not real basketball. I actually felt bad for Heath. He’s a very good coach, but watching that s***-show on the court has got to be painful for him. They have some individual talent, but they are a pathetic “team”.