College Hoops

Tamar Bates’ maturity and talent come together in win over Jackson State – Inside the Hall

William McDermott

Tamar Bates sat at the podium in Indiana’s press conference with his eight-month-old daughter after Indiana’s 90-51 win over Jackson State.

Leilani Nicole Bates sat at the podium with her father, pacifier in mouth, and spent her first Thanksgiving in Bloomington and watched Tamar play for the first time this week.

“I’m really grateful that my family can be here. This was her first two games… I see she’s excited too she’s trying to play with the microphone,” Bates said postgame, garnering a laugh.

It was an offseason of learning, growth and development for Bates. But that wasn’t isolated to the court.

The sophomore welcomed his daughter Leilani to the world last March and his perspective on things instantly changed.

“As soon as I saw her, you know, it was kinda just like a flip switched,” said Bates over the summer. “Cause it’s like now, you know, everything that I’m doing, all of the work that I’m putting in, you know, it’s not just for me anymore. You know, I’m trying to provide for her and my family. So, you know, it’s just like, getting up on those early mornings, late nights, you know, doing everything that I have been doing, but just with a lot more focus, just because, you know, I have a new purpose, I would say.”

The Kansas City product was highly praised by teammates and coaches heading into Indiana’s 2022-23 season. Mike Woodson even stated in the offseason how he thought Bates was primed for a breakout year.

“I like to think Tamar Bates, he’s been a guy we targeted when we first brought him to do some special things for us,” Woodson said to Jon Rothstein on the College Hoops Today podcast. “But as a freshman, he had some ups and downs. Summer work has just been fantastic for him in terms of his growth, and I’m looking for big things from him.”

But through Indiana’s first five games, Bates didn’t have that breakout performance many expected. He was steady, averaging 5.8 points in 21 minutes a contest. In a similar fashion to his play from last year, streaky shooting was coupled with inconsistent defense — as Bates struggled to defend without fouling.

In Indiana’s win over Jackson State on Black Friday, that breakout performance finally came.

Bates led Indiana in scoring with a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, four of which were 3-pointers. Adding to his scoring dominance, the guard tacked on four assists and no turnovers.

When Bates left the game for the last…

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