Former No. 1 recruit Emoni Bates, who spent last season with Memphis but transferred to Eastern Michigan for 2022/23, was arrested on Sunday night for felony gun charges, according to WXYZ Detroit.
Bates was originally pulled over for failing to stop at an intersection, and police officers subsequently discovered a firearm. He has been charged with felony counts of carrying a concealed weapon and altering the serial number on a gun, per WXYZ.
The 18-year-old was arraigned and released on Monday after the judge granted him a nonmonetary personal recognizance bond, Bates’ lawyer, Steve Haney, told Pete Thamel and Myron Medcalf of ESPN. Haney requested a plea of not guilty on Bates’ behalf, and his next court date is October 6.
Bates told his attorney that he was driving a borrowed vehicle, ESPN’s duo relays.
“Reserve judgment on this,” Haney said via a statement. “There’s way more to the story. He borrowed someone’s car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car.”
Bates, who is from Ypsilanti, Michigan, where Eastern Michigan is located, has been suspended by the school.
“We are aware of a situation involving men’s basketball student-athlete Emoni Bates,” the school said in a statement. “Eastern Michigan University takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. Per department policy, he has been suspended automatically from practice and playing privileges until the legal process is resolved. Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the University will have no further comment at this time.
Bates was the No. 1 recruit of the 2022 class before reclassifying and leaving high school a year early, finishing as the No. 3 recruit in 2021, per Thamel and Medcalf. However, his draft stock has taken a hit after an injury-plagued freshman season saw him average 9.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .386/.329/.646 shooting in 18 games (23.4 MPG) for the Tigers.
Most early 2023 mock drafts have Bates as a late-first-round pick or an early second-rounder.
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