Bates is absolutely under way too much pressure for someone his age. Coming home should've taken some of the pressure off of him, but considering how he's being hailed as a savior for EMU basketball, it hasn't. I think that while it's important for expectations to be set in terms of what acceptable behavior is, the best way to keep him out of trouble is keep him busy with classes and basketball. I have concerns that his upbringing was marred by the people who were supposed to be teaching him responsibility cashing in on his fame and feeding his ego instead. I also have concerns about his durability because of the amount of mileage on the court he's already had. Plus he'll still be a teenager playing in a college league, so he'll have to bulk up and adapt his game to this new reality. Even with all the concerns, I want Emoni to succeed. I want him to leave EMU as a good man and a good baller. If he can be part of a team that takes us back to March Madness, that'd be great. But he's been carrying Ypsilanti for years, it's time for us to carry him.
Bates is absolutely under way too much pressure for someone his age. Coming home should've taken some of the pressure off of him, but considering how he's being hailed as a savior for EMU basketball, it hasn't. I think that while it's important for expectations to be set in terms of what acceptable behavior is, the best way to keep him out of trouble is keep him busy with classes and basketball. I have concerns that his upbringing was marred by the people who were supposed to be teaching him responsibility cashing in on his fame and feeding his ego instead. I also have concerns about his durability because of the amount of mileage on the court he's already had. Plus he'll still be a teenager playing in a college league, so he'll have to bulk up and adapt his game to this new reality. Even with all the concerns, I want Emoni to succeed. I want him to leave EMU as a good man and a good baller. If he can be part of a team that takes us back to March Madness, that'd be great. But he's been carrying Ypsilanti for years, it's time for us to carry him.