4-Star Manny Bates (2018, PF) Commits to the Wolfpack

Kevin Keatts needs to solidify his frontcourt for next season and that starts with the addition of Manny Bates. The 6’9 PF from Fayetteville, NC chose the Pack over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown this morning.

Manny Bates announces he is going to NC State.

— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) September 15, 2017

The commitment is technically the second of 2018, but the first (PG Jamie Lewis) decommitted earlier this month.

So what will Bates bring to the table?

Well, for one, he will be slotting in as a replacement to Abu, Yurtseven and Freeman. He will certainly be getting major minutes from day one. That means that the Wolfpack will really need a lot out of this kid. He sports a 7’1 wing span and a really good frame that he will surely grow into with a little work in the weight room. As far as skill set goes, Bates is a good athlete with good hands and decent footwork. He could use a little polish at the college level, but he will certainly be a high motor body for Keatts to depend on. He has good form and nice touch on his jumper and has really improved from 15 feet over the past year. He can finish in transition, runs the court well and crashes the boards looking for follow-dunks.

Areas for improvement would be adding muscle to his frame and polishing up his back to the basket footwork and post moves.

Overall, this is a big commitment for Kevin Keatts and NC State. One that will hopefully start some dominoes falling for the class of 2018.

In the meantime, Keatts has done a lot in a relatively short period of time. He’s brought in two grad transfers (Al Freeman and Sam Hunt), he’s inked two transfers who will play in 2018-19 (CJ Bryce and Devon Daniels) and he’s now added 3 proper recruits (Batts and Beverly for this year and now Bates for next year). That 7 high-quality players added since March 17th. Looks like it’s full speed ahead for Keatts’ remake of NC State basketball.