DETROIT — Emoni Bates is the top sophomore basketball player in the country, and is a top three finalist for one of the sport's most prestigious awards.
Bates, a standout at Ypsilanti Lincoln, is a finalist for the 2019-2020 Gatorade national boys basketball player of the year.
He averaged 31 points and led Lincoln to a 19-3 record. In 2018-19, Lincoln won the state championship in a season that saw Bates average 28.5 points per game.
Former Gatorade players of the year have combined to win five NBA MVP awards, make 69 All-Star appearances, and 26 became NBA first round draft picks.
The champs are here! Ypsilanti Lincoln's basketball team visited @BradGalli in our Channel 7 studio.
— WXYZ Detroit (@wxyzdetroit) March 19, 2019
The Railsplitters won the school's first state title on a buzzer beater, and the nation's top-ranked freshman, Emoni Bates, scored 23 points. pic.twitter.com/AeTxBMRB4D
As a freshman, Bates won Michigan's Gatorade player of the year and Div. 1 AP player of the year awards.
The top-ranked freshman in the country beat the buzzer again.
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) March 8, 2019
Ypsilanti Lincoln's Emoni Bates (@BatesEmoni) lifted his team to the state quarterfinals.
📷: @EricGetsBuckets pic.twitter.com/aQMnPVGLkf
There is no timeline for the announcement of the award-winner. Gatorade said it is "continuing to follow the guidance of experts and health officials as it determines the appropriate time to announce this year’s winner."
