Tamar Bates carries lessons from time at Mizzou into NBA Draft process
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Former Mizzou star Tamar Bates didn't spend his entire collegiate career in Missouri, but he sure is taking the lessons he learned from two years under head coach Dennis Gates into the NBA Draft process.
About one month and some change away from the start of the NBA Draft in Brooklyn, New York, Bates will hope to be one of the 60 players that will hear their name called. So far, he's put in the work to get teams to turn their heads.
After earning an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine, through a standout effort in the NBA's G League Elite Camp, the Kansas City native impressed through two scrimmages in Chicago. Through 38 minutes of action, he scored a combined 22 points, including 19 in the first scrimmage alone. Collectively, Bates shot 57 percent from the field and drained five 3-pointers.
He said when he first found out he was getting the invitation to head up to Chicago for the Combine, his family thought he was getting pranked.
"I wasn't even in my room when they came and told me that I was getting called up. My mom and [my daughter] were in my room and they answered the door and my mom thought they were pranking me. I came upstairs...I was kind of taken back a little bit. But, I kind of assumed that I was gonna get the call up or I was hoping that I would, so I was just filled with a lot of positive emotions at that time. I was glad I was able to share that moment with my family," Bates said.
Now, the former Tiger guard has moved on to team workouts. He's showed off his skills in front of the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.
Bates just completed his workout with Golden State on Thursday and took time to meet with the media at the conclusion of it. He said he feels like his skillset fits in perfectly with the Warriors, as it's actually pretty similar to what he did in Missouri.
ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones asked Bates how he felt his time in Columbia and with Coach Gates prepared him for where's at now, in the pre-draft process.
"Simply put, my time at Missouri has prepared me for where I'm at now and based off of what Coach Gates says literally everyday about just giving your very best. That's how I've carried myself throughout my time at Missouri and that's how I've carried myself throughout this process and a lot of teams have taken notice of that and it's helped me a lot in this process," he said. "I'm more than prepared for the pre-draft process and the NBA because of where I played my last two years at."
Bates said, as he continues to meet with various teams, he hopes that these franchises take away that he is an 'everyday guy.'
"They're gonna get the same thing from me every time they see me," Bates said. "I'm gonna have a tremendous amount of energy every time I play. I'm gonna motivate my teammates. I'm gonna communicate at a high level. I'm gonna shoot the blood out of the ball. I'm gonna guard and, I mean, just gonna be myself and play with a smile on my face. I want them to walk away knowing that I'm somebody that they would really enjoy having around the facility."
The NBA Draft will begin on Wednesday, June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. You can watch the first round of the Draft on ABC 17 at 7 p.m. CT. The second round will air on June 26 on ESPN.
