Juwan Howard: Michigan 'looked at' Emoni Bates in transfer portal, 'but I really love the team we have'

Michigan Wolverines basketball lost eight scholarship players to either the transfer portal, the NBA Draft or graduation following the 2021-22 campaign. Fourth-year head coach Juwan Howard was tasked with overhauling his roster, and added seven new pieces to it ahead of the current season.

By all accounts, he did a great job, bringing in five freshmen who made up the No. 13 haul in the nation per the On3 Consensus and two impact transfers in point guard Jaelin Llewellyn (Princeton) and guard Joey Baker (Duke).

Rumors persisted (nothing was substantiated, though), and Howard was even spotted with him at one point, but Michigan didn’t add former Memphis guard Emoni Bates out of the portal. The Wolverines were in his top five finalists, along with DePaul, Seton Hall, Arkansas, Louisville and Eastern Michigan, where he ultimately chose.

Michigan will take on EMU Friday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Ahead of the matchup, Howard was asked if the Wolverines targeted Bates this past offseason.

“We looked at him, but I really love the team that we have here today,” Howard said.

Without coming out and explicitly saying it, coupled with the fact that it’s hard to believe Bates would’ve chosen EMU over Michigan, Howard essentially confirmed that the talented former five-star recruit was never offered — at least that’s how we took it.

Regardless, Howard has respect for the sophomore.

“Give him credit. The young man worked extremely hard on his skill set,” Howard said. “He shows that he has a lot of love for the game of basketball, and when you have a passion to play the game of basketball, you don’t have to beg a person like Emoni to get in the gym, to work on his skill set.

“So I’ve just enjoyed watching him over the years and how he’s gotten better each year.”

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Plenty of drama has followed Bates wherever he’s gone, from his high school career to last season at Memphis. This September, Bates was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and altering ID marks on a firearm. It was announced Oct. 19 that the charges against Bates were dropped.

Bates did not play during Monday’s season opener, a 75-66 Eastern Michigan win over D-II Wayne State, due to a “coach’s decision.” He did star in the team’s exhibition victory over Grand Valley State last week (85-69), scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field while adding 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 33 minutes.

The Ypsilanti, Mich., native averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with Memphis last season, but spent part of the year out with a back injury.

While Michigan is set to be a big favorite, Howard knows it’ll be a challenge to slow down Bates, assuming he plays.

“A great scorer like Emoni, you just gotta try to do your best to try to make him work hard for every bucket,” the Michigan coach explained. “Knowing that there are going to be a lot of sets that they run for him, he’s going to touch the ball every time down the floor because of his skill set and how he’s presented on the floor to make plays for his team. You just gotta make him work for every chance he gets.”

Howard added that “I’m sure everyone will get a chance to guard him,” choosing not to reveal who his primary matchup will be.

Michigan set for neutral site game in Detroit

It’s unusual for a high-major team to give up a home game for a standalone contest against a mid-major squad at a neutral site, but the Wolverines are doing so Friday. Howard says it’ll be a great opportunity for his team to play in an NBA arena and in front of Detroit-area fans.

“We did it last year,” Howard pointed out. “We did it last year with our exhibition game, when we played against Wayne State. It’s not our first time.

“I think it’s great, getting the opportunity to go and play at Little Caesars Arena, our young men getting the chance to see where the Detroit Pistons play, and that huge arena where some of the Michigan fans that live in Detroit can come to the game and see us in person, I think that’s pretty cool.

“I know our guys are going to really enjoy the atmosphere once we step foot in that arena.”

The Maize and Blue will play in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, home of the Nets, next week.

Hunter Dickinson’s backup a big storyline

Michigan has a star in junior center Hunter Dickinson, who went for 22 points and 12 rebounds in Monday’s 75-56 season-opening win over Purdue Fort Wayne. But the Wolverines are a bit thin behind him at center. Freshman Tarris Reed Jr. is his backup and the only other true center on the roster.

Howard is confident in the youngster, who put up 1 point and 1 assist in 11 minutes of action Monday.

“Tarris is going to be great for our team,” Howard declared. “Just watching his growth over the summer leading up to now, it’s nice to see that he’s getting better and better.

“It’s nice also to witness how Hunter and Tarris are challenging each other in practice. That’s where a lot of your growth comes from, when you’re competing against another very highly skilled, talented big, getting the opportunity to play him in practice. That’s going to increase your opportunities, as far as for the future of this program, seeing how and where you can grow.

“I’ve been witnessing, too, that they both have been encouraging to one another, and Hunter has been doing a really good job of being a great leader, sort of how [former Michigan forward] Austin [Davis] was for him [in 2020-21].