Dayton, Ohio — The top player in the 2022 class Emoni Bates announced on his Instagram story he would be making a big announcement on Sports Center at 1:40. The assumptions went wild on social media. Many assuming he would either be announcing his commitment to a college or him transferring to a prep school like Oak Hill or IMG.

Bates announced that he would be verbally committing to Michigan State University. This news may not mean very much as Bates will more than likely follow the trend to go to the G-League for a season like Jalen Green and other 2020 high school prospects.

The news many didn’t take into account was the shirt Bates was wearing. Bates has played at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan the last two seasons and dominated. Instead of wearing a Lincoln shirt, Bates was pictured in a Ypsi Prep Academy shirt. A new prep school created by his father in his hometown.

The rumors have been circulating in the Dayton area for some time now about Belmont forward Shawn Phillips leaving to join Emoni Bates at a prep school. Phillips’ recruiting blew up last summer after playing with Bates Fundamentals on the EYBL circuit. The 6’10” big man now has eleven division offers including offers from Indiana, TCU, Auburn, Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, NC State, and Maryland.

Phillips is currently ranked as the #45 player in the country and the #2 player in the state of Ohio in the 2022 class by 247 Sports. After a full season playing with Bates, Phillips should stack up even more offers by division one schools.

Some other players joining the duo in Ypsilanti will be 2022 recruit, Dillon Hunter, from Westlake, Georgia. Along with other players like John McClear who will leave Lincoln to join Bates at Ypsi Prep Academy.

Miami Valley Hoop Vault’s coverage of Shawn Phillips will not stop here as we will hopefully see him play at this year’s Flyin’ to the Hoop. This is the best possible move for the young man, as the Dayton City League gets little to no coverage even locally so moving to a school that will have national coverage at every game will impact Phillips tremendously.

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