Hoosiers Now

Indiana Gets Huge Commitment from Standout 2021 Guard Tamar Bates

Indiana landed one of top remaining available players in the Class of 2021 on Monday when 6-foot-5 guard Tamar Bates committed to Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana added a talented piece to its roster for the 2021-22 basketball season when 6-foot-5 guard Tamar Bates of IMG Academy in Florida committed to the Hoosiers on Monday morning.

Bates, who is originally from Kansas City, played one year at IMG and he had been committed to Texas, but was released from his letter of intent when Shaka Smart left the Longhorns to coach at Marquette.

Bates, who is ranked No. 84 on Sports Illustrated SI99 All-American list, is a consensus 4-star recruit. He's a left-hander who can score at all three levels and is considered an above average defender with quick feet and hands.

He is ranked No. 56 in 247Sports' composite rankings. He joins 6-foot-9 forward Logan Duncomb from Cincinnati Moeller in this recruiting class. He is ranked No. 74 in the composite rankgings.

Bates had a long list of suiters for his services after de-committing. 

“For me it was pretty simple,” Bates said. “I committed to Coach Smart, not Texas. So when he left, I knew I would have to look at my options,'' Bates said.

Bates strongly considered Marquette, along with North Carolina, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh and others before deciding on Indiana.  Hoosiers assistant coach Kenya Hunter was the lead assistant in Bates' recruitment.

Hunter was also the primary recruiter for Pitt transfer Xavier Johnson and UT-Martin transfer shooting guard Parker Stewart, who has been on campus since January. He had entered the transfer portal after Archie Miller was fired on March 15, but when Mike Woodson was hired and Hunter was retained on his staff, Stewart pulled out of the portal and stayed at Indiana.

Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo and Khristian Lander all did the same thing, pulling out of the portal and returning to Indiana. Guards Al Durham (Providence) and Armaan Franklin (Virginia) opted to leave, and senior center Joey Brunk committed to Ohio State over the weekend.

Most scouting reports on Bates are extremely positive. Evaluators like his energy, and the pace he plays at, and he's capable of scoring from all three levels. He's good off the dribble and is already an above-average three-point shooter.

According to a report at peegs.com, Bates had a Zoom call over the weekend with Woodson and his entire staff, assistants Hunter, Dane Fife and Yasir Rosemond as well as strength and conditioning coach Clif Marshall.

Bates and his parents were on the Zoom call. Woodson and his staff talked basketball and showed the Bates family key parts of campus such as Evolve Apartments where the players live, Cook Hall, Assembly Hall, atmosphere at IU games, how IU players train under Marshall and much more.

“It went really well,” Bates told Peegs.com. “It was my second one with them, and I thought it was a great presentation and staff.”

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

Home/Basketball