By now, fans of Oregon Ducks men’s basketball understand that roster additions come in waves under coach Dana Altman.
Rather than relying primarily on the traditional recruiting avenues, Altman and his coaching staff tireless work every avenue of talent acquisition.
High school and junior college signees. Transfer portal prospects. Overseas addition. And, lastly, reclassifying high school prospects – players in future classes who “bump up” a year and arrive in college a year early.
Francis Okoro, N’Faly Dante and Franck Kepnang are all recent Oregon signees who reclassified and arrived on campus a year (or several months) early.
This week, Emoni Bates, the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2022, indicated he will be reclassifying into the 2021 class and will decide between the NBA G-League, Memphis, Michigan State and Oregon.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was the first to break the news – and provide some key context.
Based on the current rules, Bates may not have the option of being a one-and-done player in college. He turns 19 in January 2023, making him ineligible for the 2022 NBA draft and possibly indicating he could be a two-year college player.
Bates will not turn 19 until Jan. 28, 2023 – which means he is not eligible for next year’s NBA Draft.
Bates told me he will take this year by year and re-evaluate after this season wherever he goes, but there is a chance that if he goes to college, he’ll be there for 2 years. https://t.co/83aa2Olo8W
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 4, 2021
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound small forward, out of Ypsi Prep Academy (Ypsilanti, Michigan), has not yet set a timetable for his decision, but the anticipation will be high.
He projects as a future NBA all-star, and has drawn favorable comparisons to Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George:
“Bates is a dangerous contested shot-maker who arguably is the best scorer in high school basketball,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins wrote. “He can score in a variety of ways due to his ability to put the ball in the basket at all three levels. He is dangerous pulling up from deep in transition and has range that extends past the NBA three. Bates has a quick trigger and shoots over defenders with ease. He is unfazed when attempting jumpers with a high degree of difficulty due to his length, quick release, and touch. He also has instincts as a passer and will occasionally make the right find when a defense zeroes in on him. Defensively, there is a lot of potential there. He could be versatile on that end as he has the size, length, and fluidity to check multiple positions. Bates has multi-year all-star type potential in the association. Potential in which he displays while being extremely productive dominating the high school basketball scene in the scoring category.”
Because of that immense talent, many have assumed Bates is a lock to head to the professional leagues early, but recent Name, Image, Likeness rules may have changed that path.
According to ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein, Bates could possibly earn more money going the college route.
I sincerely believe that Bates is one of several players who are now considering college, that otherwise wouldn’t have before the new NIL rules.
There are some big dollar amounts being talked about right now, that could potentially match or exceed the “professional” options.
— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) August 4, 2021
In other words, buckle up Oregon fans. Things could get very exciting in Eugene.
— Andrew Nemec | anemec@oregonian.com | @AndrewNemec
