Cavs Draft Emoni Bates With 49th Pick

Photo via Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland – The Cleveland Cavaliers used the 49^th pick on Eastern Michigan’s forward, Emoni Bates. Bates a former number one recruit out of Ypsilanti Michigan, is a skilled scorer who impressed and showed his versatility at the NBA Draft combine in May. The 6’9” forward averaged 19.2 points 5.8 rebounds for EMU in his lone year after transferring from Memphis.

 

Bates has had an interesting few years. In 2019, Bates was on the cover of Sports Illustrated where he was compared to Magic Johnson, Michael, AND LeBron James.

He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2019-2020 season becoming the first ever sophomore to win the award and prompting ESPN’s Jeff Borzello to declare:

“He is the best high school prospect in the country regardless of class.”

He finished high school early, and enrolled in Memphis to play for Penny Hardaway, and in his collegiate debut, he scored 17 points. After ups and downs, he entered the transfer portal, after averaging 9.7 points and 3 rebounds per game at Memphis. In June of 2022, Bates committed to eastern Michigan. In his hometown of Ypsilanti, he was able to put together a good sophomore year in college. There were plenty of nights where he was the best player on the floor and the talent level was obvious. The night he scored a collegiate career high against Toledo, he finished the night with 43 points, but scored 29 straight in the first half.

After EMU failed to make any NCAA postseason run, Bates declared for the Draft. At the combine, he shined in the individual workouts, and really impressed scouts with his three-level scoring.

When asked about the journey, Bates said:

“I’m just trying to get through the door and get a chance at this point.”

That chance came late last night as the Cavs made Bates the 49^th pick in the 2023 draft. Bates has potential, and while it would be asking a lot for him to come in and be a major contributor, the Cavs do have a need for a small forward. The opportunity is there for Bates to flash some of the scoring prowess he’s shown up to this point in his career. Now, with his foot in the door, it’s up to Emoni to show why he was the top recruit. The work isn’t done, it’s only beginning.