IU basketball sophomore Tamar Bates, a former top-100 recruit, enters transfer portal

Posted by Admin March 28, 2023 Basketball

A former top-100 recruit, IU basketball sophomore Tamar Bates has entered the transfer portal, a source confirmed to IndyStar’s Zach Osterman.

The 6-5 guard’s career in Bloomington never really took off considering his high ranking and pedigree. Bates had an up-and-down freshman season, and was primarily a bench player this past season, averaging 6.3 points on 38.9% on 3-pointers. He struggled in the NCAA tournament, shooting a combined 0-for-13 in IU’s two games this March. He scored over six points once in his final 14 games, shooting 24% from the field during that stretch.

Bates is the second Hoosiers player to enter the portal, joining sophomore center Logan Duncomb announced his decision last week.

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Mike Woodson and IU’s staff figured to be busy in the portal as they look to replace Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp, and most likely Jalen Hood-Schifino, who is a potential first round pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

After graduating IMG Academy, Bates was set to attend Texas, but his recruitment took a turn when Shaka Smart left the Longhorns for Marquette. He was a splashy addition for newly-hired coach Woodson in the 2022 class. In February 2022, Bates was one of five players suspended for IU’s game at Northwestern. He finished his freshman season averaging less than four points per game, a far cry from what was expected of a prospect of his caliber.

Bates moved into the starting lineup briefly following the Xavier Johnson injury, but reverted back to the bench to provide a scoring punch to the second unit.

There’s some uncertainty around IU’s backcourt for 2023-24. The Hoosiers are still waiting to hear if point guard Xavier Johnson will get another year of eligibility with a hardship waiver. Assuming Hood-Schifino goes pro, IU’s remaining guard options are Trey Galloway (6.7 ppg), CJ Gunn (2.0), Anthony Leal (0.2) and incoming freshmen Jakai Newton and Gabe Cupps.

Through multiple reports, Indiana has been in contact with a variety of portal prospects, such as Ball State big man Payton Sparks, Virginia center Kadin Shedrick, UIC guard Jace Carter, North Carolina forward Puff Johnson, Wyoming forward Graham Ike, Towson guard Nick Timberlake, Harvard forward Chris Ledlum and Minnesota forward Jamison Battle.