Manny Bates’ injury prognosis doesn’t look so good

When Manny Bates left NC State’s season-opener clutching his shoulder, particularly after such an innocuous-looking collision with another player, it was easy to fear the worst. Unfortunately, it’s sounding like this is a long-term injury for Bates—one that may require surgery.

Bates redshirted his freshman season because of an injury to his other shoulder, so the fact that he’s suffered potentially another serious setback is worrying for the future of his pro career. Whatever he decides to do should be with that in mind first and foremost, because he definitely has a future making good money playing basketball. Taking any unneeded risks to continue playing in college would be a bad idea.

NC State will miss him dearly, though, no doubt about that. Bates was the guy that this team absolutely could not afford to lose, and without him, the Pack’s season-long outlook changes substantially for the worse. It’s an opportunity for the young forwards to grow up, but State’s defense is likely doomed to be a liability, and that is a huge problem.