WATCH: Eastern Michigan's Emoni Bates scores 29 straight points against Toledo
Eastern Michigan sophomore forward Emoni Bates, one of the top recruits in the 2021 signing class, put on a display on Tuesday night that made the #MACtion basketball must-see TV. Trailing, 14-6, with 13:18 to go in the first half against Toledo, Bates scored 29-straight points.
He fueled the scoring explosion by getting his aim in from deep, canning seven three during his tear. By the end of his supernova run, Eastern Michigan led, 35-29.
After Bates drilled a step-back three from a few feet behind the line to score his 25th, 26th and 27th points, the CBS announcers could only ask “Emoni Bates, are you human?”
Eastern Michigan cooled off slightly before half and trailed, 36-35, at the break. But a strong start to the second half has the Eagles with a double-digit lead on the Rockets.
Bates is among the top transfer players in 2022-23
The NCAA Transfer Portal has become a key piece of college athletics, changing how teams build their rosters. So, as conference play kicks into high gear, CBS decided to rank transfers to this point in the season.
According to Kyle Boone, who compiled the list, he originally wanted to put together a list of 10 players. However, he found, “tried to do a top 10 list but there were too many deserving players worth mentioning so a top 20.”
Boone goes on to say that he included traditional individual statistics, as well as team success.
CBS’ top-20 college basketball transfers
Here are the 20 best transfers in college basketball, according to CBS:
- Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
- Kendric Davis, Memphis
- KJ Williams, LSU
- D’Moi Hodge, Missouri
- Grant Sherfield, Oklahoma
- Ricky Council, Arkansas
- Norchad Omier, Miami
- Landers Nolley, Cincinnati
- Souley Boum, Xavier
- Brandon Murray, Georgetown
- Manny Bates, Butler
- Jahmir Young, Maryland
- Emoni Bates, Eastern Michigan
- Johni Broome, Auburn
- Bryce Hopkins, Providence
- Mark Sears, Alabama
- Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State
- Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
- Kevin McCullar, Kansas
- Keion Brooks, Washington
CBS has ranked Terrence Shannon Jr. as the top-ranked transfer this season. A former four-star recruit in the Class of 2019, he made the move from Texas Tech to Illinois. Close behind him are Kendric Davis and KJ Williams.
Three players, Kendric Davis, Landers Nolley, and Emoni Bates are currently playing for mid-major schools. Bates, it should be pointed out, was a five-star recruit, the best small forward, and the fifth-ranked player overall in the Class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus. He made the move to Eastern Michigan from Memphis, where Davis now plays.
Two conferences, the SEC and Big East, are tied for the most transfers in CBS’ top 20, with five players each. However, the SEC has three of the best six players.