Former high school star Emoni Bates arrested for having gun in car he was driving

Emoni Bates, a former high school star who transferred from Memphis to Eastern Michigan this summer, was arrested Sunday night in Superior Township, Michigan, after sheriff's deputies discovered a firearm in a vehicle he was driving.

Derrick Jackson, the public information officer for the Superior Township, Washtenaw County sheriff's office, told ESPN that officers «initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle which failed to stop» at an intersection.

Bates will be charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. ET, per Jackson.

Steve Haney, lawyer for Bates, told ESPN that the arrest last night came after a routine traffic stop when he was driving a borrowed car that had a gun in it. «Reserve judgment on this,» Haney said in a statement. «There's way more to the story. He borrowed someone's car, was pulled over and a gun was located in the car.»

Bates, a 6-foot-9 small forward, was considered one of the elite basketball prospects in the country throughout his high school career, ranking No. 1 in the 2022 class until he reclassified last summer and ended up at No. 3 in 2021.

He originally committed to Michigan State in the summer of 2020 and then reopened his recruitment in April 2021, before reclassifying from 2022 to 2021 and committing to Memphis.

His lone season under coach Penny Hardaway was uneven. He missed 15 of 33 games because of a back injury that required him to return home to see a specialist, and he struggled when on the floor.

Bates averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds with the Tigers.

WXYZ in Detroit initially reported Bates' arrest.