Another intriguing option emerges as Kentucky eyes backcourt help for next season
There could be another backcourt star on Kentucky’s basketball recruiting radar for next season.
Tamar “Scoop” Bates — a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Kansas City, Kan. — asked Texas for his release from a letter of intent Monday, and UK is among the schools expected to gauge his recruiting interest.
Former Texas assistant coach Jai Lucas was Bates’ primary recruiter with the Longhorns before leaving Austin to take an assistant job at Kentucky last summer. Bates committed to Texas a few weeks after Lucas’ departure. Last week, Texas head coach Shaka Smart left the program for the same job at Marquette.
Bates is a long, left-handed guard who is improving as a three-point shooter and has a burst to get by defenders on the perimeter that should translate to the college level. He’s also an energetic player and a top perimeter defender at national powerhouse IMG Academy (Fla.), where he transferred to play his senior season following a stellar career at Piper High School in Kansas.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Bates is the No. 56 overall player in the 2021 class and is now one of the most coveted recruits in that group. He averaged 21.3 points per game as a junior last season and helped Piper win a Kansas state title as a sophomore.
Tipton Edits reported Tuesday morning that Gonzaga, Illinois, Missouri and Washington had inquired about Bates’ status since he reopened his recruitment this week. Home-state Kansas was seen as a top contender when Bates originally committed to Texas last August.
Kentucky still has scholarship offers out to five-star guards Jaden Hardy and Trevor Keels in the 2021 class, though neither of those players is expected to pick the Wildcats.
UK added a commitment from graduate transfer shooting guard Kellan Grady on Monday, but the Cats will likely be looking for a little more backcourt help — especially if Davion Mintz departs this offseason — ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
