6'10' 2018 Manny Bates – No More Upside Talk, The Time is Now
Northwood Temple (NC)
By Jamie Shaw
The time is now, Manny Bates is a late arriving big man who is just starting to scratch the surface of his immense potential. That is the scary part of the equation, Bates is already one of the most intimidating shot blocking forces in our region, if not the nation and it is clear is best basketball is ahead of him.
Phenom Hoops is blessed to be in the position we are in. Year after year we have elite level prospects come to our events at such an early age, and we are able to watch them grow as they continue to take advantage of our immense platform of exposure. When Bates first walked through our doors as an awkward 15 year old, it was the first time anyone had seen Bates. At that time he was like a baby deer, but it was clear he was oozing with incredible upside.
Even though no one had seen him before and Bates was an entirely new name, his first showing at Phenom's Spring Exposure Camp, the high major talent was clear, we wrote 'Bates is definitely one to put in the memory bank and your SIM CARD. What you see currently is not the finished product. That being said, Bates has unlimited upside and potential. He's extremely long and sports an enormous 7'3 wingspan that is accompanied with an equal impressive attitude. Coach Praeger stated, 'Bates is an unselfish player. His attitude and interest in learning the game will serve him well in his development.' More importantly, Bates has solid athleticism and plays above the rim. The next step in his development is to get physically stronger which will come in due time. He has passer friendly hands and is also a willing passer out of the post.'
It is clear that Immanuel Bates has been in the gym, putting in hard time to become Manny Bates. When we first saw him, he was an awkward big kid, now he is a well put together physical force. As we mentioned before, Bates is a high level shot blocker. While carrying a natural 7'5' wing span, he also has great timing to go along with high level explosion. Bates has put on 15 pounds of muscle over the last year, and that is still going.
After his performance in the Phenom's 2016 Feast of Champions Bates continued on his path, growing consistently at his own pace, we wrote 'Young power forward that is still developing into his game but several big time programs are heading his way. In the loss, Bates had 10 points and was a rebounding machine, securing 12 rebounds and also blocking five shots. Bates continues to develop his overall game and you constantly see the flashes of a high major player in his play on the court.'
Offensively, Bates game has expanded as well. Last year, he was relegated as a short corner, rim running big man. Now he has expanded his game out to 15-18 feet. He is able to put it on the floor for a bounce to get open and is almost knock down with the 18 foot pick and pop shot. He is a completely different person.
Make no mistake about it, Manny Bates is one of the elite shot blockers and paint protectors in the country. When it comes to late blooming big men, one of their biggest translatable factors is their shot blocking ability, Bates is going to be a good one.
ESPN is on the right track as they have bumped up Bates to a clear 4-star prospect ranked #78 in the country. A ranking that he will still outplay moving forward. He has just narrowed his list to 7 schools, South Carolina, NC State, Louisville, Xavier, Depaul, Georgia Tech and Georgetown. He should be narrowing his list to 5 here in the next couple of weeks and then setting up his official visits. One thing is for sure, whichever school lands Bates will be getting a game changer, and one who will work to be 10 fold better by the time his college career ends.
