NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum surprised five-star prospect Emoni Bates on Tuesday via FaceTime with the news that he had been crowned the 2019-20 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Bates of Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, became the first-ever sophomore to earn the honor and beat out over half of a million student-athletes who compete in boys basketball each year.
Tatum, the 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, knows firsthand the importance of winning the award.
Typically, winners are surprised in person by an athlete but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Gatorade surprised Bates digitally via a wave of tweets from professional athletes, including Tatum and Dwyane Wade.
“It’s a big deal. I know how much this award means,” Tatum said on a conference call. “Normally, you get surprised by an athlete at your school. During these times we can’t be around each other and we tried to figure something out to make it memorable, make it special. I was able to give him a FaceTime call and be the first to let him know.”
In the 35 years the award has been given out, the honor has been awarded to only five other underclassmen, all of which were juniors. The 6-foot-9 forward led the Railsplitters to a 19-3 record, averaging 32.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals in 21 games.
“It was real good. I’m happy to get this award,” Bates told Rookie Wire. “[Tatum] told me to keep working, that he was proud of me and welcomed me to the Gatorade family.”
Since many events around the country have been shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, Tatum was happy to help surprise Bates via FaceTime with the news. Tatum, along with Wade, also sent out congratulatory tweets to Bates on Tuesday morning.
Congrts @BatesEmoni on winning the 2019-2020 @Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. Biggest award in high school sports 💪🏾 #GatoradePOY #GatoradePartner
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 14, 2020
Bates is considered to be a five-star prospect and the No. 1-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. He has been compared to Kevin Durant and has received collegiate offers from Duke, Michigan State and Kentucky among others.
Like Bates, Tatum was highly recruited out of Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis, Missouri, before committing to play at Duke.
Tatum still remembers being surprised with the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award by Penny Hardaway.
“I remember I was coming from Chicago at the McDonald’s All American Game,” Tatum said. “It was a weekday, I think it might have been a Thursday. I remember I landed at like seven in the morning and I thought I was going to be able to go home and not have to go to school that day. My mom begged me to go to school and I couldn’t understand why.
I went to school, I wasn’t happy about it. Everybody was acting weird that day and my principal came and told me I had a press conference and all of my teammates were there but there was only one microphone so I sat up there. Penny stood up in the back and asked how I felt to win the award and I was just completely caught off guard.
Past Gatorade National Boys Basketball Players of the Year have gone on to have incredible success – they’ve combined for five NBA MVPs awards, 69 All-Star appearances and 26 became NBA first-round draft picks.
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