The best high school basketball player in America has made the decision to reopen his recruitment. Emoni Bates, the top prospect in the class of 2022, announced on his Instagram page that he’s decommitting from the Michigan State Spartans and will reevaluate where he will play once his high school career comes to an end.
As Bates, a Michigan native, wrote in the post, he is keeping all of his options on the table, whether that be following the traditional route and going to a college basketball program or taking the floor for a professional team.
Bates committed to Michigan State last June in a turn of events that Tom Izzo and co. apparently did not know was coming until earlier that day. At the time, Bates sounded more hesitant about possibly pursuing a professional career, although it must be said that this was before the G League Ignite team played its first game — two members of that squad, Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, are expected to go in the top-5 of the 2021 NBA Draft.
A 6’8, 200 pound forward from Ypsilanti, Bates is one of the most highly-regarded prospects in recent years, and is viewed as a contender to go No. 1 overall whenever he enters the Draft.