The dance with Tamar Bates began early. The son of two Missouri alums, Bates was a known progeny in the sport of basketball at an early age, and he was identified by Cuonzo Martin as prime target as early as his Sophomore season in 2018. It wasn’t until the 247sports.com’s rankings expanded in the summer of 2019 when Bates was first ranked.
From the beginning, Bates was meant to be a Tiger, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it. The journey to the black and gold led Tamar to a commitment to Texas and Shaka Smart over Martin and Tigers.