page_title: Emoni Bates
section_title: Freshman season
hierarchical_section_title: Emoni Bates / High school career / Freshman season
caption_attribution_description: Emoni Bates plays for Bates Fundamentals at the second session of Nike EYBL in Westfield, Indiana, on May 11. Photo: Colin Hass-Hill For more Ohio State basketball coverage, visit elevenwarriors.com.
context_page_description: Emoni James-Wayne Bates who attends Ypsi Prep Academy in Ypsilanti, Michigan. A small forward, he stands 6 feet 9 inches and weighs 210 pounds. He is a consensus five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2022 recruiting class. Bates is committed to play college basketball for Michigan State. Analysts have called him the best high school prospect regardless of class.
  Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bates was viewed as a top prospect since middle school. As a freshman at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, he led his team to a state championship while earning Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honors. In his following season, Bates became the first sophomore to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. For his final two years of high school, he moved to Ypsi Prep Academy, a new prep school created by his father.
context_section_description: Bates enrolled at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, being drawn there because the head basketball coach, Jesse Davis, was a longtime teammate and friend of Bates' father. On November 26, 2018, Bates made his freshman season debut, recording 32 points and 15 rebounds in an 80–69 win over Ann Arbor Huron at the Ypsilanti Tip-Off Classic. On January 18, 2019, he scored a then career-high 43 points, shooting 13-of-27 from the field, in a 68–56 victory over Ypsilanti Community High School. Bates, on February 5, was ejected and suspended one game for his role in an altercation during a game versus Dexter High School. On February 18, he posted 36 points and 19 rebounds in a 73–65 win over Jackson High School to capture the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Southeastern Conference White division title.
  On March 7, he led all scorers with 36 points and made the game-winning shot in an 81–79 victory over Detroit Catholic Central High School, as Lincoln claimed its first regional championship. Nine days later, Bates guided Lincoln to its first MHSAA Division 1 state title after scoring 23 points in a 64–62 win over top-seeded University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. He finished the season averaging 28.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, helping his team to a 23–4 record. Bates was named Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year. He also earned Associated Press (AP) Division 1 Player of the Year and All-State first team honors. Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press labeled Bates as the "best freshman to ever play in Michigan," while Evan Daniels of 247Sports mentioned him as possibly the best high school prospect since LeBron James.
caption: Bates with Bates Fundamentals at the Nike EYBL in May 2019
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