Manny Bates takes part in NC State basketball Senior Day ceremony ahead of UNC game
In a twist, N.C. State’s Senior Day festivities offered a bit of intrigue and surprise in addition to the usual pomp and circumstance. Most Wolfpack fans expected two players to be honored Saturday —Jericole Hellems and Thomas Allen. Instead, there was a third — forward Manny Bates.
Bates, a Fayetteville native, is technically a junior, although he’ll graduate this spring. He played less than one minute this season before going down with a shoulder injury. He had surgery and has been limited to the sidelines since.
His participation in Saturday’s ceremony doesn’t necessarily mean that Bates is done at N.C. State. He could transfer, enter the NBA Draft, or return to Raleigh for his senior year of eligibility. During football season, for example, several Pack football players participated in Senior Day and returned for an extra year.
“I wouldn’t read into it,” Keatts said. “It’s really nothing. We had a great communication, we talked about it.”
On Friday, Keatts told the media Bates was coming along well in his rehab process.
“He’s a little bit ahead of schedule,” Keatts said. “He’s able to do a little bit of light lifting. He has not been able to shoot. He’s better, his mobility is back. He is starting to get in with our strength coach, but nothing major right now.”
Bates has played in 54 games in a Wolfpack uniform and is one of the top shot blockers in school history. His 147 career blocks are fourth in school history. Hellems and Bates were in the same recruiting class and Keatts told the media after the UNC game, the two wanted to go through Senior Day together. Keatts has not had a conversation with Bates yet about his future.
“I won’t until the end of the season,” Keatts said. “Once the season is over we will sit down and have a bunch of conversations. We’ll sit down and figure out what’s the best situation for him.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Manny Bates takes part in NC State basketball Senior Day ceremony ahead of UNC game."
