Saturday’s highly-anticipated matchup between No. 1 recruit Emoni Bates and Bronny James will not be played as originally scheduled.
James and other Sierra Canyon (Calif.) stars will not play in the “The Battle” in Fort Worth, Texas this weekend with COVID-19 issues keeping their club team (CBC) from attending. James and his teammates were slated to do battle with Bates and the newly-formed Ypsilanti Prep Academy in a nationally-televised matchup on Fox Sports 1. Ypsi Prep will now play Coronado High School (Calif.).
LeBron James Jr. (known as Bronny), other Sierra Canyon stars won't play in The Battle on Saturday in Fort Worth.
COVID issues will keep their club team (CBC) from attending.
No. 1 national recruit Emoni Bates will face new opponent.@SportsDayHS @247Sports @Rivals @usatodayhss— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) January 7, 2021
RELATED: Led by star player Emoni Bates, Michigan’s new basketball academy will play Bronny James’ team
This is the second time a game between Sierra Canyon and Ypsi Prep has been canceled this season. The two were supposed to meet in November, but Sierra Canyon canceled because of COVID-19 concerns.
Bates, a five-star recruit and the top prospect in the class of 2022 according to 247Sports, is committed to Michigan State and is projected to be the first pick in the NBA draft whenever he becomes eligible to enter (current NBA draft rules require a player to be at least one year removed from high school before declaring, but that could change as early as 2022).
Ypsi Prep’s roster also features seven Division I recruits, including four-star 2022 shooting guards JaVaughn Hannah and Dillon Hunter and four-star center Shawn Phillips.
Bates and James have squared off before on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit, with Bates exploding for 43 points with LeBron James in attendance.
