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The Eastern Echo Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Basketball star Emoni Bates commits to Michigan State

2022 top recruit chooses Michigan State over Kentucky, Michigan, and others.

Emoni Bates, the best player in the 2022 class, announced Monday, June 29, that he would be committing to Michigan State.

The Sophomore player had also received offers from Kentucky and Michigan, but stated that Michigan State seemed like the right fit. In an interview with ESPN, Batesu2019 father, Elgin Bates, stated that 2019 Coach [Tom] Izzo and Coach [Mike] Garland and the entire MSU staff has been showing love since his seventh-grade year.

Emoni is ranked by 247 Sports as the number one overall recruit of the 2022 class, with comparisons to Lebron James and Kevin Durant. As a sophomore Bates averaged 31.6 points and nine rebounds. He had led Lincoln to Division 1 Championship last season as a freshman as well as being named the Gatorade National Basketball player of the year for 2020.