“Emoni Bates to play for Duke or Kentucky?”: Rumors abound as NBA’s no. 1 high school recruit in the class of 2022 decommits from Michigan State

Emoni Bates, the Number 1 prospect in the Class of 2022, recently announced his decommission from Michigan State via Instagram.

There have been many players who have been called the “next LeBron James” or the “next Stephen Curry” during their college or even high school days. Obviously, some of these players fold into the high expectations set on them, while the others are always under-appreciated for not being able to live up to the hype which once surrounded them.

Zion Williamson was the recent most player who was considered to be the most hyped player entering the NBA since the King himself. The Pelicans forward was easily one of the most hyped-up players by the media in recent history. Luckily for the 6-foot-8 All-Star, he managed to supersede some of the surreal expectations set for him.

One such high schooler, Emoni Bates is easily one of the best players in his entire class. The Number 1 prospect in the Class of 2022, has people considering him as one of the highly anticipated players ever, to enter the league.

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“Thanks to everyone at Michigan State, but I have decided to reopen my recruitment”: Emoni Bates

It is understandable why he considered being a generational talent. Standing at 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, Bates’ style of play has been compared to Kevin Durant and even Paul George.

The 17-year-old was the only sophomore in history to win the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He defeated current NBA prospect, Cade Cunningham after he averaged a staggering 33.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game for Lincoln High School.

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Back in June 2020, Emoni had verbally committed to play for the Michigan State Spartans Men’s Basketball team. However, Emoni Bates recently announced he would be decommitting from the Michigan State program. He took to Instagram and revealed how he is keeping both his options open – college and pro.

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As many NBA analysts and stars predicted, Bates could potentially never set foot on a college basketball court. Bates could either use the G-League path or the pro option before being eligible to enter the 2023 NBA Draft.