Bates Becomes 1st Sophomore POY
April 15, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Ypsilanti Lincoln standout Emoni Bates has been named Gatorade’s national boys basketball “Player of the Year” – becoming the first sophomore to win the national award.
Bates earlier was named the Michigan award winner for the second time. The award recognizes athletic excellence but also academic achievement and on and off-court exemplary character.
The 6-foot-9 do-everything player capably is able to man all five positions on the court, and this season averaged 33.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game while leading Lincoln to an 18-3 record before play was halted because of COVID-19. Bates has scored 1,343 points through his first two seasons of high school basketball.
Additionally, Bates carries a B average and has volunteered in local elementary school literacy campaigns and as a youth coach, as well as participating in clothing and shoe drives for community churches.
PHOTO: Ypsilanti Lincoln’s Emoni Bates dunks during the 2019 Division 1 Semifinals at Breslin Center.
Moment: Beecher Practice Made Perfect
March 27, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Flint Beecher boys basketball team had prepared for situations like what it faced with five seconds left in its March 24, 2016, Class C Semifinal against Detroit Loyola.
And after watching a 15-point lead dissolve into a two-point deficit during the second half, the Bucs called on a big-time player to come through with a big-time shot to save their championship aspirations.
Malik Ellison took a handoff from teammate Aquavius Burks on the wing, took a dribble left, jutted back right and dropped a 3-pointer from five feet behind the line to give Beecher a 60-59 win. Two days later, the Bucs won another Class C title.
Said Ellison after: “In practice we run that play all the time. (Coach) gives us a situation, like we’re down two and we’ve got to get a bucket. At first on my pump fake, I was like, should I pass? Then I saw (the defender) jump, got a little angle with my arm, and knew it was going in. I felt it.
“Every day I go in the gym, either the Y or I stay after practice, and it’s shots like that just for times like this. I just pulled it through today.”
Click to read Second Half's coverage – Beecher Survives on Last-Second Shot – and watch the game-winner below with coverage from the NFHS Network.