Emoni Bates has posted a message expressing regret about decommitting from Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball nearly four years ago.
Bates, 21, posted Thursday to his official Facebook page he has “tried to make amends” and wished he had stayed with his original decision from June 2020 to play college basketball with the Spartans. Bates instead decommitted April 30, 2021 and ended up joining head coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis.
“If I could redo things I would,” Bates, now in his second season with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, wrote Thursday. “Life is about experiences, lessons and learning from them. I’ve tried to make amends plenty of times. If you can forgive a 16 year old who made a decision to reopen his recruitment I appreciate you.”
Bates added.
“Coach Izzo and Coach Garland I will always love and respect you guys Thank you for once believing in me.”
In May 2023 before the NBA draft, Bates explained to NBA reporter Shams Charania why he decommited from MSU two years prior.
“I was real young. … I feel like I didn’t really explore any other options, you know, Michigan State is right up the street from me,” Bates said in the interview. “So I feel like I wanted to explore my options more. And that’s what I did. That’s when Memphis came along.”
Bates, an Ypsilanti native, this season has played in eight games with NBA’s Eastern Conference-leading Cavs (61-15), averaging 3.8 minutes and 1.1 points per game. He played in 17 games as a rookie last season after being selected 49th overall in the 2023 draft.
Bates has spent more time in the G League with the Cleveland Charge, averaging 18.5 points on just 37.8% shooting in 20 games this season.
Bates garnered attention as a seventh grader at Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor, led Ypsilanti Lincoln to its first ever Division 1 state title as a freshman in 2019 and was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 15 years old next to the words “Born For This,” where he was compared to Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Bates, once a five-star recruit and No. 1 ranked player in the class of 2022, decided to finish his high school career at Ypsi Prep, a school created by his father E.J.
Bates reclassified into the class of 2021 in order to graduate sooner and committed to play at Michigan State.
But he decommitted and chose instead to play at Memphis where he struggled to adjust to the collegiate level. Bates played in 18 games for the Tigers as a freshman and started in just 13, missing 12 games late in the season due to a back injury. He finished averaging 9.7 points per game and 3.3 rebounds, then transferred to his hometown school, Eastern Michigan.
The Eagles went 8-23 as Bates averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds as a sophomore, then declared for the draft.
Here is Bates’ statement in full:
“To all my MSU people I love y’all and Coach Izzo! I was a 16 year old kid that made a decision held to the fire as an adult. If I could redo things I would. Life is about experiences, lessons and learning from them. I’ve tried to make amends plenty of times. If you can forgive a 16 year old who made a decision to reopen his recruitment I appreciate you. For those who cannot I understand. Coach Izzo and Coach Garland I will always love and respect you guys Thank you for once believing in me.EB”
Previous staff reports contributed to the reporting of this story.
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