(2021) SG Tamar Bates to INDIANA

[triple]

Wonder if the Bates commitment opens the door for Woodson to get involved with Efton Reid who plays for IMG as well.  He's the only top 25 recruit for 2021 without a single crystal ball prediction.

2021 Top Basketball Recruits (247sports.com)

[Stuhoo]

Mike Woodson and Indiana land coveted guard Tamar Bates
By ERIC BOSSI 116 minutes ago
 

When Shaka Smart made the move from Texas to Marquette, four-star shooting guard Tamar Bates opened up his recruitment. That move opened the door for Indiana and new coach Mike Woodson to make a run.

Monday morning, Bates confirmed to 247Sports that he has committed to Indiana.

“I’m going to Indiana to play for coach Mike Woodson," Bates told 247Sports.com.

Woodson's own history as a player and experience coaching in the NBA made an impression on the 6-foot-5 native of Kansas City (Kans.) who spent his senior year at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, but Bates felt what Woodson and his staff can do for him off the floor was more important than anything else.

“Past his own decorated personal achievements and accolades, he just stressed how important it was that he make me better as a man," said Bates. "Me and my family felt that being around him and the staff that he’s put together that they would be able to continue to build my mental capacity and just help me grow as a young man.

“I’m going to be with them for a pretty important portion of my life and that was the one thing that was really important to us, being around a group of men that are going to build me and have my best interests first.”

Currently ranked No. 60 in the 247Sports top 150 and No. 56 in the industry generated 247Sports Composite, Bates is coming off a strong senior season where he was often times the best player on a loaded IMG team. He is an attacking two guard who can get to the rim, shoots well from deep, is an alert passer and has a long and wiry frame that will easily carry more muscle. He's as intense a competitor as there is in high school basketball and brings the defensive intensity as well. His future head coach thinks he'll be a fit.

“(Coach Woodson) just said that in terms of me personally that I fit his coaching philosophy and that’s just getting to it on both ends of the floor," said Bates. "Playing really good defense and then having a spaced, fast paced, ball screen setting offense. He wants to implement a lot of NBA stuff in our offense, and we are going to have to buy in to playing defense and that’s not a problem for me, I enjoy defense.”

While Bates is as intense as they come on the floor, he wants Hoosier fans to know that he's a fun-loving kid off the court with a big personality.

“They should just know first that I’m a really good person off the court and I’m somebody that when I come into a room, I’m going to have a smile on my face and want to everybody else around me to as well," said Bates. "People might see the way that I play and think I might be uptight or not want to talk to anybody. But off the court I’m that goofy dude, it is like a switch flips when I play basketball, I’m two totally different people.”

Bates joins a class that is a mixture of high school prospects and transfers. Big man Logan Duncomb is also a four-star prospect while Pittsburgh point guard Xavier Johnson and UT-Martin wing Parker Stewart are two of the top transfers of this cycle. Bates is excited to lace them up in Bloomington and looks forward to helping but Indiana basketball back on the map.

“I’m excited to play for such a historic program when you are talking about people like coach Bobby Knight and as much as they have won. I’m just trying to go there and add to what they have there now because they have some really good players. The goal is to bring Indiana basketball back to where it was and I’m going to go in with that same mentality to carry it on.”

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

sportsmediapass.com -

Clearly Woodson has put together a group of coaches that can go out and bring in the players that Indiana needs to succeed. Bates is the highest-rated recruit the Hoosiers have brought in since Trayce Jackson-Davis’s commitment. With Hunter, Dane Fife, and Yasir Rosemond at his side, Woodson can lean on his professional background and focus on coaching these players and building meaningful relationships that will help further their development. It’s a great sign for things to come as Woodson continues to make a great case for why he was hired in the first place.

[Artie86]

21 minutes ago, DWB said:

I may be proven wrong (won't be the first time), but I'm not counting Leal out yet. He started slow, and that gave him a seat on the bench, and since Archie was so stubborn, he never got a chance to play decent minutes. But I watched his intensity and skills grow over the course of the season, and I'm not counting him out as a last option at guard behind all the "names".

We'll see.

If my 53 year old mind serves me correctly,  Kyle Hornsby came on late in his career as well. I hope Leal can at least meet, if not succeed Hornsby’s output while at IU.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Rabjohns (Free)  https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Article/Tamar-Bates-IMG-Kansas-City-Indiana-basketball-recruiting-4-star-2021-guard-Tamar-Bates-164379289/?fbclid=IwAR3NNEmZ5ytJrE8lYPdodv-UugH75aOCDbG3V2U-oY1O2Y_HiIhmM8h_aZE

[cybergates]

For some reason I get a Dwyane Wade vibe watching his highlight vids.

[bigrod]

Just now, cybergates said:

For some reason I get a Dwyane Wade vibe watching his highlight vids.

Tom? Is that you?

[Stuhoo]

1 minute ago, cybergates said:

For some reason I get a Dwyane Wade vibe watching his highlight vids.

 

I'd say he's more of a Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Danny Moore combo.

 

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan]

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[iu eyedoc]

11 minutes ago, IUCrazy2 said:

Fife was a McDonalds All American.  He was a 5* kind of player when he was brought in.  Not Top 150ish.

And yet he was nothing more than a bit player his first 2 seasons and then just a complementary one as a Jr and Sr.

Point is there are only 200 player minutes per game and it isn't a shame that 2 moderately recruited guys, as Fr and So,  are 3rd or 4th off bench minutes guys. Some of my favorite Hoosiers all time were that early.

[LamarCheeks]

I wonder if he's really gonna wear No. 53? In a way, I like it. It's something a little different (and maybe in homage to his grandmother?). But it will be extremely difficult to live up to the legacy of Ross Hales and Tom Geyer! 
 

 

[VO5]

Just now, LamarCheeks said:

I wonder if he's really gonna wear No. 53? In a way, I like it. It's something a little different. But it will be extremely difficult to live up to the legacy of Ross Hales and Tom Geyer! 
 

 

He will. It’s the age of his grandma when she died I believe 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Love:

 

1. Tamar the name

2. Tamar the game

3. Lefty

4. And everything else about it.  
 

We will loose 2 or 3 to transfer but if we get and keep the best guys we will win. 
 

iuwbb proves you can have a steady flow of transfers from the bench and still win. 
 

Now we will add a big man next.  Woody isn’t done yet. 

[Stuhoo]

3 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

I wonder if he's really gonna wear No. 53? In a way, I like it. It's something a little different (and maybe in homage to his grandmother?). But it will be extremely difficult to live up to the legacy of Ross Hales and Tom Geyer! 
 

 

 

[HoosierHoopster]

27 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Mike Woodson and Indiana land coveted guard Tamar Bates
By ERIC BOSSI 116 minutes ago
 

When Shaka Smart made the move from Texas to Marquette, four-star shooting guard Tamar Bates opened up his recruitment. That move opened the door for Indiana and new coach Mike Woodson to make a run.

Monday morning, Bates confirmed to 247Sports that he has committed to Indiana.

“I’m going to Indiana to play for coach Mike Woodson," Bates told 247Sports.com.

Woodson's own history as a player and experience coaching in the NBA made an impression on the 6-foot-5 native of Kansas City (Kans.) who spent his senior year at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, but Bates felt what Woodson and his staff can do for him off the floor was more important than anything else.

“Past his own decorated personal achievements and accolades, he just stressed how important it was that he make me better as a man," said Bates. "Me and my family felt that being around him and the staff that he’s put together that they would be able to continue to build my mental capacity and just help me grow as a young man.

“I’m going to be with them for a pretty important portion of my life and that was the one thing that was really important to us, being around a group of men that are going to build me and have my best interests first.”

Currently ranked No. 60 in the 247Sports top 150 and No. 56 in the industry generated 247Sports Composite, Bates is coming off a strong senior season where he was often times the best player on a loaded IMG team. He is an attacking two guard who can get to the rim, shoots well from deep, is an alert passer and has a long and wiry frame that will easily carry more muscle. He's as intense a competitor as there is in high school basketball and brings the defensive intensity as well. His future head coach thinks he'll be a fit.

“(Coach Woodson) just said that in terms of me personally that I fit his coaching philosophy and that’s just getting to it on both ends of the floor," said Bates. "Playing really good defense and then having a spaced, fast paced, ball screen setting offense. He wants to implement a lot of NBA stuff in our offense, and we are going to have to buy in to playing defense and that’s not a problem for me, I enjoy defense.”

While Bates is as intense as they come on the floor, he wants Hoosier fans to know that he's a fun-loving kid off the court with a big personality.

“They should just know first that I’m a really good person off the court and I’m somebody that when I come into a room, I’m going to have a smile on my face and want to everybody else around me to as well," said Bates. "People might see the way that I play and think I might be uptight or not want to talk to anybody. But off the court I’m that goofy dude, it is like a switch flips when I play basketball, I’m two totally different people.”

Bates joins a class that is a mixture of high school prospects and transfers. Big man Logan Duncomb is also a four-star prospect while Pittsburgh point guard Xavier Johnson and UT-Martin wing Parker Stewart are two of the top transfers of this cycle. Bates is excited to lace them up in Bloomington and looks forward to helping but Indiana basketball back on the map.

“I’m excited to play for such a historic program when you are talking about people like coach Bobby Knight and as much as they have won. I’m just trying to go there and add to what they have there now because they have some really good players. The goal is to bring Indiana basketball back to where it was and I’m going to go in with that same mentality to carry it on.”

Kid is the perfect example of the type of player Woodson will be bringing in, imo, length, shooting and defensive minded —

the bring in a lot of NBA stuff in our offense is exactly what I’ve been talking about and looking forward to seeing. Our shooting is going to improve quickly not just with new players like Bates — who will absolutely improve our outside game as he grows into a college player — but with the spreading of the floor and green lighting of the arc, we have guys who can shoot and what they can do is going to look better. I’m pretty high on our upside going forward now.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

The Daily Hoosier - FWIW, #iubb's 2-man 2021 high school class is now No. 3 in the Big Ten in terms of average player rating according to the 247Composite, and No. 11 nationally. Hoosiers bringing in a small but talented group.

[ThePaulieWalnuts]

Great job staff.  Now grab another big and let's call it a class and get to work.

[DChoosier]

14 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

I'd say he's more of a Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Danny Moore combo.

 

Wow.
We are already downplaying his skills.
You forgot Bird, Kareem, Magic and Kobe. Tough crowd.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Are we having fun today?

 

Dustin Dopirak -

Talked to Sean McAloon at IMG Academy about Bates. Going to do a whole story on analysis by his coaches, but thought some stuff was worth mentioning. He said Bates' leadership is "special." Said he plays angry and holds guys accountable but also keeps the locker room light...

Said he's added lots of muscle, probably 10 pounds, maybe 15, since he got to Bradenton. Said they've also made a point to get him in more ball screen action so he can be more of a playmaker. Also said he can take a guy out of the game on defense.

[HoosierHoopster]

18 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

I'd say he's more of a Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Danny Moore combo.

 

No no, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Kawhi and LBJ all in one