Is Athletes in Action still a thing? What about the Marathon Oil team?
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Emoni also isnāt even 18 yetā¦ I get that itās fun to pile on but I donāt think his struggles really prove that much about whether heāll eventually be a pro. He needs productive coaching and heās never really gotten it. Itāll probably take this y earās spectacular failure to make him realize that. My (completely uneducated) guess is Ignite next year.
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personally not trying to pile on Bates himself, just seems like there are more potential outcomes now than there were a year ago. I assume the plan was 1 year of college + 1 year of Ignite, then get drafted in the top 3. Now he might stick to that, but he could also do a year in Australia like RJ Hampton, he could stay in college, he could even hit the portal --seems like the party is over for Penny soon
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His camp/father have consistently made decisions that donāt benefit his development, so here we are. I agree there are more ranges of outcomes (heās not longer a top-3 type prospect when people thought he was a generation top 1 type of prospect) but I just think he has a lot of development left. At some point heāll need to embrace that.
Heās still a very tall kid with a very excellent jumpshot.
Yeah - thereās a good and possible great player in there somewhere. I never bought into the hype of him being a generational player because those guys are almost always physical freaks (Zion, Shaq, Durant, Lebron, Webber, etc.) and the ones who werenāt (MJ, Kobe) were known for their insane intensity and drive. The best version of Emoni as a 17-year old freshman is a catch-and-shoot + attack-closeout third option who works hard in the weight room and to learn defense so that heās the potential star next year. The version of Emoni that he and his father have always made him is ball hogging shot chucker who doesnāt pass or play defense.
Heāll get there someday I think, but not at Memphis.
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Feels like G League is the most sensible move. Spacing and pace will benefit him better than college and the coaching will certainly be an upgrade. The top Ignite players are doing pretty well this year imo and the coaching was a big part of why they are doing well as rookies.
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It is so weird to me that Penny seems to think he has a deep team. This is probably going to strike people as controversial but I have watched all of their games and here is my opinion:
Williams
Duren
(Gap)
Harris
(Gap)
Lomax
Nolley
Quinones
(Gap)
Minott
Dandridge
(Huge gap)
Bates
Timberlake
Hardaway
(Not a single point good guard option but even with no coaching you can win some games and make the tournament with those players if the time is distributed in an appropriate way.)
Walker Kessler looks so much better this year.
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Texas jumps out to a 13-0 lead on the Pokes the first 4 minutes, has scored 3 pts in the last 12 minutes, now down 20-16 with 4 left in the half.
Iām definitely watching the wrong game for this time slot.
Chet isnāt doing this.
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That army navy game is defying all logic
Go Army! 
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I wonder if more spacing in the NBA heāll be able to rim more. As a Pistons fan, Iāll be happy with either him or Chet (or Banchero or Ivey.)
The bates family was not taking well to being in the 20s in Givonyās mock
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Emoniās dad getting into it too
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Jabari Smith has a high floor but ceiling is a question mark depending if he can do more than just a 3 and D jumbo wing player with potential to be a small 5 in certain situations. At the very worst, heāll be a good 3 and D player who can contribute on a contending team.
Sharpe is an interesting case since heās eligible for '22 draft but it sounds like him and the family want to wait until '23 draft. Heās a dynamite athlete though.
Wowā¦what a family. Will be interesting to see how his career plays out. Thereās some truth to the Izzo comments about how he holds back some of his guys until they are olderā¦but the thought of how many times he would bench Emoni for taking an early clock long two are fun to think about.
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I agree with Dylan that Emoni has gotten a disproportionate amount of hateā¦but man, these comments do not help. This reminds me of Lavar Ball except without the clear schtick.
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Emoniās dad youāre such aā¦
ā¦oh wait. OK good point keep talking!
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