Emoni Bates remains one of the most polarizing players in this year’s NBA Draft and one look at the mock drafts will tell you that.

Bates ranges from No. 23 (to Portland) on SB Nation to No. 52 (Phoenix) on ESPN to No. 60 on Tankathon (Milwaukee).

The Ypsilanti, Mich. native who was once compared to a young Kevin Durant and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated has already worked out with the Charlotte Hornets and Dallas Mavericks and has one coming up with the hometown Detroit Pistons. He’s also met with the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers.

At the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago this week, he measured 6’8.25’’ without shoes with a 6'9’’ wingspan. Bates weighed in at a slight 179 pounds.

Bates did some good things at the Combine in front of scouts and decision-makers from around the NBA, including Jerry West, the 84-year-old inspiration for the NBA Logo. In his first game on Wednesday, he shot 4-of-9 for 9 points, including 1-of-3 from deep, with 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal while accumulating 4 fouls in a loss. In his second game on Thursday, he shot 3-for-5 for 12 points, including 2-of-3 from deep, with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in a victory.

“I think that Emoni did a good job this week trying to play a little bit of a different style than we had seen from him at Eastern Michigan, which was not the most winning style,” ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony said Friday on a conference call.

He added: “He really showed his shot-making ability in the scrimmages. He hit some really, really tough shots off the dribble. That's what he does. He's a scorer. I think you look at his measurements, not really ideal in terms of 179 pounds, a wingspan that's shorter than his height in shoes, athletic testing, didn't test particularly well. I think we knew that about him. He's not the most explosive athlete out there.

“So, I think he's going to have to really continue to build on this week that he had and have some great workouts, have great interviews. I see him as a guy who is a second-round pick at best. I'm not sure that he's guaranteed to hear his name called. But he's 19 years old, so there's a long road ahead of him. I think he's a guy that NBA teams are going to kick the tires on, and he showed glimpses of his talent this week.”

After transferring from Memphis to Eastern Michigan, Bates averaged 19.2 points per game on 41% shooting including 33% from beyond the 3-point line.

One team to keep in mind for Bates is Charlotte, which worked him out already and has five total draft picks: Nos. 2, 27, 34, 39 and 41.

Larry Jordan, Michael’s brother and the Vice President of personnel with Charlotte, is a big Bates fan and was in attendance when he scored 35 points this season in an overtime loss to Ball State in February.

Another team is the Nets, who pick at 21, 22 and 51 and had GM Sean Marks at the Combine.

The Pistons, meantime, are his hometown team and feature his former Team Final teammate Jalen Duren. Detroit is in the midst of a coaching search, with former UConn and Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie and former NBA big man Jarron Collins in the mix.

“They got my boy Jalen, so I would love to play over there, especially since that’s my hometown,” Bates said this week. “Me and him, we go way back so that would be a blessing for me.”

He added: “To me, it don’t matter where I go because at the end of the day it’s a blessing.”