Analyzing Emoni Bates and Hunter Dickinson

November 11^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

Today, I took the time to watch Eastern Michigan’s 6-8 sophomore forward, Emoni Bates square off against Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, and the Michigan Wolverines in an early season, non-conference college basketball game.  It was a very competitive match that went back and forth, and Bates played tremendously, as he dominated with his superb shooting and scoring skills.  However, Michigan was able to pull away due to the strong play of 7-1 junior center, Hunter Dickinson, who paced the way with 31 points to help Michigan get the victory.  Here are my thoughts on how Bates, Dickinson, Jett Howard, and other various prospects fared in this game.

Emoni Bates put forth a splendid performance, as he scored 30 points in his team’s tough loss to Michigan.  He is a very athletic swingman that shot the ball well, and he put his full skill set on display.  He did a great job of shooting the basketball.  He made numerous step-back jumpers both from three-point land and the mid-range, he ran off of a ball screen to make a baseline mid-range jumper early on, and he also made a one-legged runner from the mid-range another time.  Bates showed great footwork and a smooth shooting stroke that enabled him to make shots effortlessly from the outside.  Even more impressive was that he was able to make pull-up threes from well beyond the arc.

He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Bates would run the floor to score on fast breaks.  He also scored on a high-flying tip slam, as well as on a magnetic jam off of a backdoor cut.  He also thrived as a scorer off the dribble, as he was both extremely effective as a pull-up shooter, and at scoring on strong drives to the hoop.  If there was any negatives about his shooting or scoring in this game, it was that he would tend to take tough shots that would occasionally miss, but Bates also made numerous contested shots in a thoroughly impressive fashion.  Also, in terms of his shooting mechanics, he seems to short-arm his release when he shoots it from the outside.  Because he doesn’t shoot with a full follow through all the time, it may be fairly tough for him to be consistent from night to night.

Also, Bates showcased adequate playmaking skills.  He was able to throw accurate interior passes, and he would make timely passes in the second half of this game.  However, he also committed several turnovers, especially early on.  He would sometimes struggle to protect the ball and had a couple of balls poked away from him.  He also threw a ball away that ended up getting intercepted.

He also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball.  Bates was fairly active on the glass, and he was able to get multiple boards on both ends of the floor.  Defensively, he looked to be fairly average.  He was able to contest some jumpers, albeit he tended to give up space to shooters and would occasionally allow them to knock them down from the outside.  However, he tended to gamble a bit too much at times, as he would go for the steal a lot, and would be too aggressive to jump passing lanes in an attempt to create transition scoring opportunities, which would sometimes lead him to be out of position.  He also would sometimes not get back on defense or hustle back hard enough, especially after committing turnovers, and there were times where he would not contest shots and would give up fast break points to the opposition.

In general, Emoni Bates had a tremendous showing in his team’s loss to Michigan.  He asserted himself by doing a terrific job of shooting and scoring the basketball, and he was able to create shots for himself and his teammates consistently throughout the night.  He really helped his draft standing with his strong performance in this game, and he is a high upside prospect that could end up being a lottery pick in the 2023 draft.

Michigan’s 7-1 junior center, Hunter Dickinson had another tremendous showing to lead his team to a win over Eastern Michigan in this game.  Dickinson did a great job of scoring in the low post.  He is a strong, bruising center that would score often on drop steps, jump hooks, and he also scored on an up-and-under move while getting fouled once.  He showed good footwork and scoring touch to go along with having tremendous strength that enabled him to consistently finish plays inside.  He also showed good shooting touch that enabled him to knock down a mid-range jumper effortlessly.  He also set tremendous screens to help his teammates get open driving lanes due to having great size, strength, and a wide frame.

On the downside, there were a couple of times where he missed easy shots inside, and he also seemed to fumble the ball away once after getting it on a roll to the rim.  Dickinson isn’t especially quick, and he had trouble defending shooters or ball-handlers off the dribble out in space.  That said, Dickinson was absolutely dominant down the stretch, and he basically willed Michigan to get the win to fend off a feisty, upstart Eastern Michigan team that received strong performances from Emoni Bates and Noah Farrakhan.

In summary, Hunter Dickinson played very well, and he really thrived as a shooter and low post scorer for Michigan.  He will need to improve his defense in the meantime, but his size, strength, and low post scoring skills could enable him to thrive as a role player in the NBA.

Redshirt sophomore point guard, Noah Farrakhan played very well for Eastern Michigan, and he is a speedy point guard that thrived as a scorer off the dribble.  He would often score on speedy drives to the hoop, as well as on pull-up jumpers.  He has blow-by speed that would enable him to quickly get around defenders to consistently finish at the rim, and he also had the strength to finish in traffic and also get foul calls.

He was able to make some good passes on the break, but Farrakhan also would sometimes play too fast and out of control down the stretch.  He took some tough shots that led to misses in crunch time, and Eastern Michigan would sometimes go for possessions without getting Emoni Bates touches on offense, who had been playing extremely well.  Farrakhan also over-dribbled into traffic and got tied up, which led to a jump ball and to a costly turnover late in this match.

Overall, Noah Farrakhan is a speedy point guard that can score the basketball, but he will need to work on his court vision and show teams that he can reliably run the point on a consistent basis.  He played well, especially in the first half in this game, and Farrakhan could definitely be a prospect to watch, especially if he keeps playing well this season.

Michigan’s 6-7 junior forward, Terrance Williams II shot the ball well, as he thrived as a spot-up shooter, and he excelled at making catch-and-shoot threes to effectively space the floor for his team.  He is an athletic swingman that excelled at scoring on catch-and-shoot, or catch-and-finish opportunities and he also rebounded the ball well.  He seemed to be too passive at times, and had some trouble consistently creating his own shot off the dribble, but Williams did a good job of shooting and scoring the basketball, and he could end up being a solid 3 and D role player in the NBA.

This game was kind of a mixed bag for Michigan’s 6-6 freshman swingman, Jett Howard, who had played well in his season debut earlier.  Howard was streaky with his outside shot, but he also showed that he can run quickly off of pin-downs to score on quick, catch-and-shoot threes.  He moves very well off the ball, and he thrived at making threes after running off of ball screens to get open.

He also showed that he can draw free throws off of cuts and off the dribble, but Howard seemed to struggle to consistently create his own shot off the dribble or to score in traffic. 

He also did a good job of passing the basketball.  Howard threw pinpoint interior passes to get his teammates the basketball, and he would make the extra pass to consistently find the open man.  Alslo, Howard played satisfactory defense.  He would consistently challenge jump shots, and he was able to block a couple of them.  However, he also seemed to struggle to defend opponents off the dribble, and he would get beat off the dribble, which would lead him to be out of position.  He also tended to pick up touch fouls, and he didn’t seem to be much of a factor in this game down the stretch.

Overall, this wasn’t a great game for Jett Howard, but he was able to showcase some playmaking and defensive skills in this game.  He may not be an elite athlete, but he managed to make some solid team plays in this match.  He’s a versatile player that has an intriguing skill set, and he seems to have solid all-around skills.  He will need to be a more consistent player in games, but he is a skilled player that currently may project to go in the late first to the second round range in the 2023 draft.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on how Emoni Bates and other various prospects fared in this game.  Thanks for reading.