Emoni Bates, Ypsi Prep filling up their dance card with elite hoops events

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Class of 2022 Michigan State commit Emoni Bates and his Ypsi Prep teammates are committed to playing at some of the top high school basketball events in the nation during the upcoming season.

Ypsi Prep will play at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest Nov. 27-28 in Dallas and the Holiday Hoopfest Dec. 11-12 in Miami.

Bates and company are also slated to play at the prestigious Hoophall Classic against IMG Academy (FL) in Springfield, Mass. on Jan. 18 (MLK Day).

IMG Academy, which claimed the GEICO High School Nationals Championship in 2019, has reloaded with the additions of Lynn Greer III, who comes over after having been teammates at Roman Catholic with new Montverde (FL) Academy additions Justice Williams and Jalen Duren for the past two seasons, Jett Howard, the son of Michigan head coach Juwan Howard who is making the move from University City, and Jaden Bradley, an elite guard who’s transferring from Cannon School (N.C.).

Class of 22 Michigan State commit ⁦@BatesEmoni⁩ and his Ypsi Prep team are committed to these events pic.twitter.com/6yyAB9HkQo

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) July 11, 2020

The 6-foot-8 Bates, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2022, committed to Michigan State last month. If the NBA one-and-done rule changes by then, he could go straight from the preps to the pros. If it doesn’t, he will suit up for Tom Izzo for a year.

Bates also announced he will play for the new Ypsi Prep team coached by his father Elgin.

“It’s my hometown. I didn’t really want to leave, so I’ll stay here until it’s time for otherwise,” Bates told wzyz.com. “You never want to leave your foundation, you know? Home is home. If we can do it here, why not do it here? Family support, community, there’s nothing better than being home.” Elgin Bates told the site, adding that Emoni and the family turned down offers to play at basketball schools across the country.

Emoni Bates is leaving Ypsilanti Lincoln to create Ypsi Prep Academy. Here's the roster:

Emoni Bates
Dillon Hunter
Javaughn Hannah
Shawn Phillips
Traemon Norris
Genesis Kemp
John Mcrear
Jaden Adkins
Orlando Lovejoy

More: https://t.co/OTzyIZzveN pic.twitter.com/GOrhsJr3LU

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) June 29, 2020

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