Emoni Bates of Michigan was awakened with good news on Tuesday.
Bates was named Gatorade’s national player of the year in high school basketball, becoming the first sophomore to win the award, and was informed during a FaceTime call with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
“I was shocked and real surprised,” Bates said later in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “It means a lot to me, especially to be the youngest to win this award.”
Bates beat out Evan Mobley of California and Cade Cunningham of Texas, the top-ranked seniors in the country. The 6-foot-11 Mobley has signed to play at Southern California next season and the 6-6 Cunningham is headed for Oklahoma State.