Recruiting Report: Joey Bates (2018)
When we watched Preble Shawnee last Friday, it was clear that their 6’3” wing Joey Bates (2018) could develop into a contributor at the college level. Currently, he’s a bit misplaced on an extremely short roster, as he’s playing almost…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWhen we watched Preble Shawnee last Friday, it was clear that their 6’3” wing Joey Bates (2018) could develop into a contributor at the college level.
Currently, he’s a bit misplaced on an extremely short roster, as he’s playing almost a power forward. However, he believes he will play the 1 or 2 at the next level.
“I’ve heard from a few schools, D-III and NAIA … Wooster, Manchester, Taylor, Grove City, and a few others,” Bates said.
“It’s still a pretty early in my search for a college. But I’m working out visits and stuff. Going and seeing schools, where I’d like to go to school,” Bates said.
Bates carries a 4.0 GPA and earned a 24 score on the ACT on his first attempt. Safe to say that academics will play a role in his decision.
“I want to go to school and get a degree for a job after college,” Bates said.
Bates said he doesn’t have anything scheduled, but would like to take a few more visits after the high school season.
At 12.7 points per game, Bates is the leading scorer on a 15-6 Preble Shawnee team. He also has embraced that power forward role by grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game.
One thing that separates Bates is that he can live in the mid-range.
“I’ve kind of worked on it a lot over my basketball career. Over the summer, I’ve expanded my range back to the three-point. So I still need to work on the three-point. But, mid-range, I’m pretty good at it,” Bates said.
Last Friday, Bates thrived in the high post against a 2-3 zone. He was looking to take one dribble towards the basket and score nearly every time. Bates would pump-fake his way into a shot attempt, and showed good passing ability if the defense collapsed. He barely came out of that game, and never stopped playing with effort.
“Just keep my motor going the whole time. Try not to take plays off. Because that’s the one thing you can control out there,” Bates said.
In order to become an even more complete player, Bates is working on shooting off the dribble.
He will continue that development during the grassroots season with the Dayton Nets. For now, you can see Preble Shawnee’s first round matchup against Franklin-Monroe on February 25.