Bates ignites crowd in NC State debut
ROD BAXLEY FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
RALEIGH — For the first time in 985 days, Manny Bates played basketball in a game that counted.
After a pair of shoulder injuries forced him to miss his senior season at Northwood Temple Academy and his true freshman season at N.C. State, Bates got the start for the Wolfpack on Tuesday in its 82-81 seasonopening overtime loss against ACC foe Georgia Tech.
The 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman was the first starter announced, won the opening tip and had a pair of blocks to go with a lob that he caught from Braxton Beverly and slammed through the basket for the first points of his college career.
All of that happened in the first three minutes as Bates ignited the crowd of 17,133 at PNC Arena.
“It just felt good to be back, back on the court,” said Bates, who finished with two points, seven rebounds and a game-high five blocks for the Wolfpack.
“It’s been two years since I’ve played in a real basketball game, so I was just excited to get back.”
Before Tuesday, Bates last played a “real basketball game” on Feb. 24, 2017, in the final game of his junior season at Northwood Temple.
“My teammates do a great job of just guiding me through,” Bates said of his journey with the Wolfpack.
“My mindset coming in was just bring a lot of energy, get rebounds and block shots — help whenever I can.”
Bates did all of those things in his return to the court Tuesday. But by his standards, the final score was the only thing that mattered.
And after the Wolfpack (0-1, 0-1 ACC) built a 15-point lead in the first half, the Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0 ACC) closed the deficit to seven points at halftime and forced overtime before using a pair of free throws to escape with a one-point victory.
“Any game that we lost is a bad game for me,” Bates said.
But this was a minor setback compared to what he’s battled over the last two years. The moment was bigger than one loss. If he can stay healthy, those moments will multiply and, in turn, help the Wolfpack avoid more losses.
“Manny was good for his firsttimeinanACCgame,” said N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts.
“Obviously, when you look at the stat sheet, he’s not gonna be a big scorer for you. But I thought he did a good job defensively. …He’sgonnabegood.He’s as talented as any young man that’s a freshman at his size in this league and I thinkhe’llhelpusoutalot.”
Senior C.J. Bryce, who notched a double-double for the Wolfpack with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds, echoed his coach’s thoughts.
“Manny has been a great presence for us in the paint,” Bryce said.
“… With him being such a young talent, he’s just going to continue to get better.”
Bates battled through cramps in the second half for the short-handed Wolfpack, which was playing with senior guard Markell Johnson on the sideline nursing an ankle injury.
Six players played 30 or more minutes for N.C. State, including Bates, who saw 32 minutes of action.
“One or two plays a different way, you have a differentoutcome,”Keatts said.
“Give Georgia Tech credit; they finished the game and we didn’t. We’ll move on and we’ll get better from this. Hopefully, we’ll get some other guys back that’ll get healthy and we’ll be a better basketball team.”
Bates knows a thing or two about trying to get healthy.
That 985-day stretch helps him keep things in perspective.
“You always have to stay positive,” he said. “… Two years is a long time to just be watching.” Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver. com or 910-486-3519.
ROD BAXLEY FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
RALEIGH — For the first time in 985 days, Manny Bates played basketball in a game that counted.
After a pair of shoulder injuries forced him to miss his senior season at Northwood Temple Academy and his true freshman season at N.C. State, Bates got the start for the Wolfpack on Tuesday in its 82-81 seasonopening overtime loss against ACC foe Georgia Tech.
The 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman was the first starter announced, won the opening tip and had a pair of blocks to go with a lob that he caught from Braxton Beverly and slammed through the basket for the first points of his college career.
All of that happened in the first three minutes as Bates ignited the crowd of 17,133 at PNC Arena.
“It just felt good to be back, back on the court,” said Bates, who finished with two points, seven rebounds and a game-high five blocks for the Wolfpack.
“It’s been two years since I’ve played in a real basketball game, so I was just excited to get back.”
Before Tuesday, Bates last played a “real basketball game” on Feb. 24, 2017, in the final game of his junior season at Northwood Temple.
“My teammates do a great job of just guiding me through,” Bates said of his journey with the Wolfpack.
“My mindset coming in was just bring a lot of energy, get rebounds and block shots — help whenever I can.”
Bates did all of those things in his return to the court Tuesday. But by his standards, the final score was the only thing that mattered.
And after the Wolfpack (0-1, 0-1 ACC) built a 15-point lead in the first half, the Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0 ACC) closed the deficit to seven points at halftime and forced overtime before using a pair of free throws to escape with a one-point victory.
“Any game that we lost is a bad game for me,” Bates said.
But this was a minor setback compared to what he’s battled over the last two years. The moment was bigger than one loss. If he can stay healthy, those moments will multiply and, in turn, help the Wolfpack avoid more losses.
“Manny was good for his firsttimeinanACCgame,” said N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts.
“Obviously, when you look at the stat sheet, he’s not gonna be a big scorer for you. But I thought he did a good job defensively. …He’sgonnabegood.He’s as talented as any young man that’s a freshman at his size in this league and I thinkhe’llhelpusoutalot.”
Senior C.J. Bryce, who notched a double-double for the Wolfpack with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds, echoed his coach’s thoughts.
“Manny has been a great presence for us in the paint,” Bryce said.
“… With him being such a young talent, he’s just going to continue to get better.”
Bates battled through cramps in the second half for the short-handed Wolfpack, which was playing with senior guard Markell Johnson on the sideline nursing an ankle injury.
Six players played 30 or more minutes for N.C. State, including Bates, who saw 32 minutes of action.
“One or two plays a different way, you have a differentoutcome,”Keatts said.
“Give Georgia Tech credit; they finished the game and we didn’t. We’ll move on and we’ll get better from this. Hopefully, we’ll get some other guys back that’ll get healthy and we’ll be a better basketball team.”
Bates knows a thing or two about trying to get healthy.
That 985-day stretch helps him keep things in perspective.
“You always have to stay positive,” he said. “… Two years is a long time to just be watching.” Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver. com or 910-486-3519.
