Gary Charles' Big Time Tournament did not disappoint! Every nationally ranked basketball player seemed to be in attendance which was great for the spectators! Bates Fundamental took time off from the Nike Big Foot Tournament to play a showcase game for Gary Charles against the Bewley twins and Team Breakdown.
The game was one for the history books and was another Gary Charles production that was off the hook! The Nike sponsored Bates Fundamentals was led by super frosh Emoni Bates. Recruiting services ranked Bates as the best freshman in class 2022. Why not? The kid won basketball player of the year in Michigan...as a freshman!
Matter of fact recruiting services and media outlets touted this kid as the best basketball player in the nation no matter the grade! They said his game was already legendary or something spun from myths! Thank goodness I stopped believing in myths when my mother broke the news to me she was Santa Clause. My whole world changed! Everything needed to be closely scrutinized!
This was the second time watching Bates in the month of July. From the first observation, I was intrigued! Watching him in the Vegas Big Time Hoops tournament against the Bewley twins from Team Breakdown was impressive! Bates is a definite future NBA lottery pick that will be drafted out of high school when the rules change in the near future.
Emoni Bates is a skilled shooting guard in a stretch forward's frame. His game resembles a smaller version of Kevin Durant. Bates can flat out score the pill! He can get to the rack with an initial east-west move then burst north and south with great footwork for an elite athletic rim rocking dunk reminiscent of pre-injury Zach Levine. Bates can fly! What is more impressive is his shooting. The kid can stroke it from deep! Against Team Breakdown he finished with a quiet 37 points besides the few rim-rattling dunks which means he scores like that consistently. It's an every game thing for him.
Against the Bewley twins, we really didn't get to see the match up everyone expected. The 6'9" Bates is a perimeter player while the Twins are more interior. Bates is also a very good passer with a very high basketball IQ.
At this point in time calling him the best player in the country no matter the grade is premature and not fair to him nor his parents. It puts an unwarranted bullseye on his back! If the parents wanted, they could have played Emoni at 17's where he'd still dominate. Instead, they chose to play him at 15's where he can continue to enjoy the game he loves! Kudos to the parents! I believe they get it!
Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, or Cade Cunningham could easily vie for the best player in the country no matter the grade tag at the moment. Bates is worth the price of admission!
