Emoni Bates says he's transferring to hometown E. Michigan

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Emoni Bates, one of the top recruits in the 2021 men's basketball recruiting class, says he is transferring from Memphis to Eastern Michigan.

Bates, in an Instagram post Wednesday, announced his decision to return to his hometown of Ypsilanti to play for the Eagles of the Mid-American Conference.An EMU spokesman said he could not confirm Bates' transfer.

Bates averaged 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game his freshman season at Memphis and started 13 of 18 games. He missed 15 games because of a back injury before appearing in the Tigers' two NCAA Tournament games.

The 6-foot-9 forward announced in April that he would leave Memphis and later said he would decide among Michigan, Arkansas, Seton Hall, DePaul, Louisville and Eastern Michigan.

Bates originally was on track to be in the 2022 recruiting class, but last summer he reclassified to the class of 2021 and signed with Penny Hardaway at Memphis after de-committing from Michigan State.

Eastern Michigan was 10-21 overall and 5-15 in the MAC last season and has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 1998.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25