Tag: Team Sizzle

Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins standout, but lose in competitive exhibition on ESPN2

Michigan State commits and Ypsi Prep stars Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins scored big, but came up with a loss in Thursday’s exhibition.

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On Thursday night, many Michigan State Basketball fans finally got their first look at two future Spartans: Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins. Bates and Akins both suited up for Ypsi Prep’s game against Team Sizzle and 5-star center (who is also kind of a point guard?) Chet Holmgren. Bates and Akins both scored in double-figures but lost 78-71 in what was ultimately a fun, competitive exhibition.

Bates finished with 36 points and he hit four three-pointers on the night. He also added a pretty fun dunk in the first half, which you can check out here. Akins added 17 points and, in my opinion, looked extremely polished in the game.

Some more Jaden Akins highlights for you:

Team Sizzle star Chet Holmgren attracted a lot of attention throughout the game, recording 31 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocked shots on the night.

Aside from all their talent, I will say that watching Bates and Holmgren guard each other was uniquely funny just because both players are notoriously skinny. To me, it looked like watching two of the ‘wacky, inflatable tube men’ play basketball, which I remarked on during the game:

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