Emoni Bates can absolutely play basketball. It seems as though the wheels are coming off of his career though. He is currently at Eastern Michigan playing on a bad team, getting the opportunity to develop. He’s also not playing well overall, but shows flashes of greatness. Most basketball pundits have written him off as a bust; a player who will never play in the NBA. The reality is that most players won’t play in college. Most players won’t have an opportunity to make money in the game of basketball as a player. He is in college and he will be able to play for money. I just don’t know if he’s an NBA player today, but he will get an opportunity nonetheless.
The way we’re carrying on about Emoni shows so many fundamental problems in the world of basketball today to make the game not even fun for the players to play. Emoni’s problems are not just his own. These problems are derived from our basketball society and the fandom that encompasses it. Between the overexposure, being a college freshman, and the basketball development process has failed Emoni. So we end up with what we have today and wonder whether or not the player is going to be as good as we thought he would.
Over-exposure
Exposure as a basketball player is not a bad thing. If you’re not careful, the hype machine can get out of control and the overexposure can become the plague. There are a bunch of talented kids that are exposed to be the limelight too fast or too early.
Overexposure leads to a lot of different things that are negatives. While it may be fun and fulfilling to see your son or daughter’s name in publications, websites and instagram reels etc, you can open yourself up to critiques that aren’t necessarily fair but can be true. Overexposure is the equivalent to taking a standardized test every day without having an opportunity to study it. Players need time to make mistakes. They also need time to play 5 on 5 without the prying eyes of influencers and scouts trying to get the latest scoop. The constant evaluations lead to your child’s game being picked apart and the weaknesses becoming more important than their strengths. His or her shortcomings are exacerbated for more highly touted players. Emoni Bates is the latest example of this.
College Freshmen
If your son or daughter is blessed enough to make it to college, most freshmen struggle. All college freshmen find themselves in situations where they can’t play at a high level right away. Freshmen on college basketball teams are typically eighteen years old playing against players that can be as old as twenty-three years old. Competing against men who have been in college systems for three to four years is harder than Chinese arithmetic. Most of us who played at the college level struggled as freshman to find a way; practice, games and travel takes some time to get figured out.
The Emoni situation at Memphis became hard to stomach. The relationship between Coach Penny Hardaway and Bates seemed strained. The program needed to win while Emoni needed to develop. I could see the strain on legendary assistant coach Larry Brown’s face. We watched him play against teams that were sound fundamentally and well coached and as stated earlier, he was forced to play to his weakness. Although he was considered one of the best players in the country, this is a situation where he was going to need more time to grow to be a better player. For his ranking as a high school player, he did not play great. For the typical freshman he played just fine. His field goal percentage was low. His 3-point percentage was low. He struggled to defend. These are all things that happen to most players that are introduced to collegiate level basketball. Unfortunately, either Emoni or the University of Memphis became impatient with the process which led to his decision to transfer to Eastern Michigan.
Talent & Development
Emoni’s problem started when he reclassed, skipping a year of high school. He is relatively positionless and really never figured out how to play with other good basketball players. He’s shown to be a streaky shooter, still doesn’t defend, but is quietly talented as a scorer. Physically he has short arms and a weaker frame so it’s hard for him to get a shot off against good defenders. It’s also hard for him to rebound the ball at a high level for a guy who was 6 foot 10 inches tall. Overall, he has played like a young player in college.
Emoni will be a professional basketball player one day. Where he ultimately plays depends on someone liking him as a player and seeing value in his ability to score the ball. Until then, he should be focused on improving as a basketball player every day.
