Despite reclassification, Emoni Bates still two years from NBA

Ypsi Prep Academy five-star small forward Emoni Bates told On3’s Joe Tipton he will re-classify to the 2021 class and announced the four options he will consider.

Bates will decide between Oregon, Memphis, Michigan State and the NBA G-League. However, college basketball writer Rob Dauster pointed out, despite reclassifying, Bates will not be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft because he is four weeks too young for the NBA’s age limit, which states players must be 18 years or older to enter the league.

This sets up a two-year decision for Emoni Bates, who was ranked as the top player in the 2022 class prior to reclassifying.

From a financial standpoint, he will be compensated well no matter which path he chooses. With the NCAA’s new Name, Image and Likeness rules, Bates will stand to gain thousands of dollars in college or in the G-League.

Last year, 2020 five-star recruit and 2021 lottery pick Jalen Green signed to the G-League Ignite team straight out of high school for over $500,000. Green went on to get drafted by the Houston Rockets with the second-overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Isaiah Todd, a 2020 five-star recruit and 2021 second-round pick, signed a contract with G-League Ignite worth upwards of $250,000 coming out of high school last year.

Bates is expected to be picked in the lottery in the 2023 NBA draft, and could be picked as high as number one.

Exploring his college options, Emoni Bates was previously committed to Michigan State from June 29, 2020 till April 30, 2021. They remain an option he’ll consider. Oregon and Memphis also remain options for Bates. Oregon notably has 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson committed. Memphis remains involved with a number of high-profile recruits including 2022 five-star Jalen Duren, who played alongside Bates in AAU on Team Final earlier this year. Duren is also exploring the possibility of reclassifying.

Earlier this week, five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers told On3‘s Justin Wells he would be reclassifying to the 2021 class from the 2022 class, and enrolling at Ohio State in the fall, citing the inability to profit off of his Name, Image and Likeness as a high school athlete in the state of Texas as a factor in his decision.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo reported that “among the deals now available to Ewers include cash and equity from Holy Kombucha, a local company,” he wrote. “Ewers also had significant memorabilia deals lined up and interest from national companies.”

Ewers’ status as the number one player in his class and his 93,300+ Instagram followers puts him in line to potentially earn close to seven figures per year in endorsements during his time at Ohio State, according to Thamel.

Emoni Bates could have even more earning potential in college. The small forward is widely considered the best player in the country regardless of class and has nearly four times the number of followers on Instagram, currently sitting at over 384,000 followers on the platform.