@cavanagh I don’t believe I’ve ever typed those words. Don’t believe I’ve ever really argued that he won’t play more in the NBA than Romeo. I think they’re both good, but flawed players. And since you will assuredly be on here checking receipts when Bates finds his shot. It seems necessary to talk about his 3-20 start to his NBA career. Feels very similar to his 0-fer February stretch at IU. If he was as much of a dawg as you claim, he’d have been repping his way out of these kinds of slumps.
I do hope he climbs out of it soon though. Always liked him. A lot more before you became his spokesman, but still like him.
yes everyone counts the summer league stats. For sure judge him on these games where he was thrown on a team of players he’s never met 48 hours earlier. Don’t pay attention to Denver starting him the last 3 games. He is gonna. Play in the nba this year. Looking more and more like a fact.
I missed Romeo’s summer league stats so far. Anyone got them? I read he was back on a team and about to be back in the league where he would still be better than Tamar? Wrist injury from HS is to blame here obviously. Let’s give him another decade.
@cavanagh I don’t believe I’ve ever typed those words. Don’t believe I’ve ever really argued that he won’t play more in the NBA than Romeo. I think they’re both good, but flawed players. And since you will assuredly be on here checking receipts when Bates finds his shot. It seems necessary to talk about his 3-20 start to his NBA career. Feels very similar to his 0-fer February stretch at IU. If he was as much of a dawg as you claim, he’d have been repping his way out of these kinds of slumps.
I do hope he climbs out of it soon though. Always liked him. A lot more before you became his spokesman, but still like him.
yes everyone counts the summer league stats. For sure judge him on these games where he was thrown on a team of players he’s never met 48 hours earlier. Don’t pay attention to Denver starting him the last 3 games. He is gonna. Play in the nba this year. Looking more and more like a fact.
I missed Romeo’s summer league stats so far. Anyone got them? I read he was back on a team and about to be back in the league where he would still be better than Tamar? Wrist injury from HS is to blame here obviously. Let’s give him another decade.
You understand how summer league works right? Everyone is put on a team full of players they've never played with. They're being evaluated, or as you said, judged.
A guy that's spent 5 years in the league isn't going to play summer games. He's already got a body of work to evaluate.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
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@cavanagh it’s all relative. Summer league is like one big tryout, for most of the players that weren’t drafted, or aren’t on real contracts already. He’s confirming what the book has been on him…streaky shooter, ball dominant guard, below average defender and rebounder. He very well might still get his shot with actual time with Denver. I hope he does. But so far, he isn’t doing himself any favors.
Basketball wise, his best chance is to be a scoring guard in a 2nd unit. He isn’t going to be a 3 and D guy like a KCP. He isn’t going to be a backup PG. I can’t fathom him being a starter, at any position. He’s fighting for a Benedict Mathurin type role. I don’t see him being a good enough all around player, for that. But maybe he will be?!
@iunorth what the books say on him streaky shooter? Stop making stop up he was a 40/50/90 guy and the best FT shooter in college. He is known as a fantastic shooter.
@cavanagh lots of 0-fer and 1-fer performances. Also lots of 3-4, 5-6 type performances. He’s streaky. That’s his wrap. He shot upper 30s percentage his last year at IU, but had the awful stretch in B10 play. He’s streaky. That’s always been the book on him. If you knew him, and the people that have been around him as well as you say you do, you’d know that. He’s actually probably due for a 5-6 type game soon. I suspect Denver was probably looking for a string of 3-5, 2-4 type games, though.
@iunorth you are the only person that calls him streaky and no one judges him on his IU career. Why don’t you ask ai the scouting report on Tamar. I did. It said this.
Tamar Bates, a 6’5” shooting guard from Missouri, is a 2025 NBA Draft prospect who signed a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets after going undrafted. Below is a comprehensive scouting report based on available information:
Strengths:
• Elite Shooting: Bates is an exceptional shooter, particularly from the free-throw line, with a career 92.4% (220/238) and 94.6% in 2024–25. He shot 39.7% from three and 50.8% overall in his senior season, nearly achieving a 50/40/90 split. His polished mechanics make him a reliable catch-and-shoot threat (41.9% on spot-up threes) and effective on pull-up jumpers (37.2%).
• Length and Physical Tools: With a 6’10.25” wingspan and 8’7” standing reach, Bates plays bigger than his 6’3.75” barefoot height. His 33.5” max vertical shows decent athleticism, and he’s added muscle to reach 192 pounds, aiding his durability.
• Efficiency and Decision-Making: Bates is a low-mistake player who rarely forces shots or turns the ball over. He excels in transition, with 16 dunks in fast-break situations, and is a smart slasher, converting 72% of halfcourt rim attempts despite being a below-the-rim finisher. His high basketball IQ and ability to attack closeouts (e.g., stepback threes, floaters) make him a versatile scorer.
• Defensive Potential: Averaging 1.3 steals per game, Bates uses his length and anticipation effectively to jump passing lanes. His toughness and willingness to engage physically, as seen in stopping a potential poster dunk, suggest he can be a scrappy defender.
• Leadership and Character: A senior captain at Missouri, Bates led the Tigers to a 10-win SEC season and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024–25, a significant turnaround. Coaches praise his work ethic, high character, and team-first mentality, making him a fit for NBA locker rooms.
@cavanagh I assure you, the hot/cold nature of his 3 point shooting is a known concern, and always has been…for Tamar himself even, but certainly for past coaching staffs and opposing coaches. And that AI summary didn’t list a single negative thing about him. Also a known issue is his inconsistency defensively, especially defending off the ball. Hes most certainly not known as an elite 3 point shooter. Hes never shot over 40%… he shot less than 30% one year. I can’t think of a single “elite” shooter that’s ever shot less than 30 percent from the 3 for a season. No matter the consequences.
ulimtate judge on this was he didn’t get drafted. Shooting is the most coveted attribute NBA Gms are looking for. At his length for a guard, if he was as good a shooter as you say…and some of the AI stuff you provided says, he would have been drafted. It is very known that his numbers come with inconsistency, from the 3 point line.
@iunorth no use arguing with stupid. Good day.
here’s another article saying he’s an elite shooter. Find me one saying he’s streaky. You can’t.
Bates is one of the best touch-based shooters in college basketball. As a fourth-year senior, he continuously adapted and found a niche to impact games at Indiana, where he spent the first two years of his career. Hereafter, Bates moved to the SEC, committing to Coach Gates and the Missouri Tigers, with whom he had a breakout season, scoring over thirteen points per game while leading the conference in free-throw percentage in back-to-back seasons.
Well I remember him as a streaky shooter. But what do I know.
I don't think he amounts to much in the league. He definitely won't make as much money as Romeo. Whether his career stats ever out do Romeo's, that obviously remains to be seen. But honestly I doubt it. Romeo got lucky. Scoop didn't.
As a senior at Mizzou he had 13 total games shooting sub 30% from 3 and in 9 of those games he was ohfer. That was worse than his junior year when he had 12 games under 30% and 8 games without a made 3.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
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@receipt-keeper not sure what cherry picking games does, you can do that for any player.
want me to list only the games you didn’t? Would look like an all American.
thats why you average them out for the entire year and he is a 40/50/90 guy, and got signed to a two way deal, and will play in multiple nba games this year. 😘
So isn't that the definition of streaky? And in what circumstances were the makes and the misses. Were all the makes in garbage time against garbage teams ? Were most of the misses against better talent ? And in clutch time when it mattered more? Honest questions ... I only watched him a handful of times while at Missouri. I watched every game he played at IU. And I liked him , my son , who was 10 when scoop arrived , took a liking to him. We both wanted him to excel. We remember a couple of games in which he did. But many that he didn't.
He was unbelievably consistent once conference season started. He only had a 4 game period this last year in November vs lil sister of the pour like talent, legit high 200 and 300 level teams on Kenpom where he played in the teen minutes in those games.
once conference season started Bates was one of the most reliable and best 3 point shooters in the best league in the country hands down, shooting 42%.
appreciate saying you didn’t watch him, because no one in there right mind would say he was a streaky shooter if they watched the SEC this year. He was a stud on a really good tourney team. Way better than IU.
@receipt-keeper not sure what cherry picking games does, you can do that for any player.
want me to list only the games you didn’t? Would look like an all American.
thats why you average them out for the entire year and he is a 40/50/90 guy, and got signed to a two way deal, and will play in multiple nba games this year. 😘
That's exactly what streaky is. Started his senior year great, then Game 6 against Ark Pine Bluff in his game log for 3s was 0-2, 0-3, 1-5, 2-5, No attempts, 0-1. Had a couple of good games where he was 1-2, 2-5, 0-4, 2-3,3-3, 1-6, 3-6,0-3, 4-6, 2-3, 4-10, 2-7, 0-2 and on and on. He's streaky. I don't know how you can argue that he's not a streak shooter.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tamar-bates-1/gamelog/2025
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/tamar-bates-1/gamelog/2024
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
@receipt-keeper
yeah. I'd say that's streaky.
0% 0% 20% 40% 0% no att 0% 50% 40% 0% 67% 100% 17% 50% 0% 67% 40% 29% 0%
those are the percentages he shot in the games you listed Hooky. At best it's very inconsistent. But I would say streaky. The streaks aren't long so that's why I say inconsistent.