Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates, a former No. 1 college basketball recruit, arrested on gun charge

Eastern Michigan basketball star Emoni Bates was arrested Sunday night on a gun charge, the Free Press has learned.

Bates was pulled over by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office at 10:40 p.m. when an officer saw Bates failed to stop at the intersection of Nottingham and Clark Rd. in Superior Township, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

According to police, a firearm was discovered in the car upon investigation and Bates, 18, was taken into custody.

Bates, a Ypsilanti native, Michigan native, is currently being held in jail and will be charged with one felony, carrying a concealed weapon, according to the sheriff’s office. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the 14A District Court at 1 p.m. Monday.

Prior to transferring to Eastern Michigan this summer, Bates, who originally committed to Michigan State, spent his freshman year at Memphis. The 6-foot-9, 190-pound wing averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on 38.6% shooting in 18 games.

Emoni Bates, shown during a Memphis Tigers game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on March 19, 2022.

“I love my city and coming home to do something special was big for me,” Bates said in a statement last month after his transfer was complete. “I’ve known several of the guys on the team from playing together and competing. Having a strong relationship and bond with my teammates and coaching staff was important to me.”

Before his time in college, Bates starred in high school for three years, first at Ypislanti Lincoln where he led the Railsplitters to the program’s first Division I state championship as a freshman in the 2018-19 season when he was named was named Michigan’s Division 1 Player of the Year by The Associated Press.

After the 2019-20 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bates announced he was transferring to play at Ypsilanti Prep Academy, a basketball program and school started by his father, E.J. Bates.

Bates played one year at the prep academy before graduating from high school in three years and entering college as the No. 1 ranked player in the nation in the Class of 2021.

According to EMU, Bates is the first former five-star prospect on a roster in the Mid-American Conference. The program was not immediately able to respond for comment.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Emoni Bates, Eastern Michigan basketball star, arrested on gun charge