Tamar Bates Joins Mizzou Basketball

The Missouri men’s basketball team added to its highly-regarded recruiting class on Friday, signing Tamar Bates (Kansas City, Kan.) from Indiana.

One of the top young shooters in the Big Ten last season, Bates helped the Hoosiers to its most wins in seven years during the 2022-23 campaign and a four seed in the NCAA Tournament. Bates connected on 37.4 percent of his 3-point attempts as a sophomore – ranking sixth in the Big Ten among all underclassmen.

“We’re excited to welcome Tamar home to Mizzou,” said Whitten Family Men’s Basketball Head Coach Dennis Gates. “From just down the street in Kansas City, Tamar has a winning DNA and is a player that will flourish in our system. He has great length and can really shoot the ball from deep. What makes him special, though, is how much of a vocal leader he is on the court and his strong basketball IQ.”

A 6-foot-5 guard from nearby Kansas City, Kansas, Bates averaged 6.1 points in 35 contests and 20.4 minutes per game as a sophomore. He ranked second overall on the team with 37 made 3-point field goals and third with his 37.4 percent from behind the arc. Bates scored in double figures seven times off the bench, connecting on multiple triples in eight contests.

Prior to joining the Hoosiers, Bates enjoyed a standout high school career at IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and Piper High School (Kansas City, Kan.), ranking as high as the No. 23 recruit in the country.

Bates is Mizzou’s third signee of the spring period, joining National Junior College Player of the Year Curt Lewis and Colorado State transfer John Tonje. The trio joins a program that is coming off one its most successful campaigns in years during the 2022-23 season as the Tigers finished with 25 wins in their first season under Gates – their most in 11 campaigns – while claiming their first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years.

Mizzou also owns a top-25 freshman class – singing Jordan Butler, Trent Pierce and Anthony Robinson II to National Letters of Intent in November to go with preferred walk-ons in JV Brown and Danny Stephens.