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Last March, Indiana finished their season on a grueling stretch of five games in seven days, eventually bowing out of the NCAA Tournament at the hands of St. Mary's in Portland.

For most of Indiana's roster, there would be time to rest and reflect on the previous season before getting back to work on the court.

But for then-freshman guard Tamar Bates, his schedule was far from clear. He had a daughter on the way.

"The day that we lost, I left the next day at 5:00 a.m., I got on a flight from Portland, flew to Utah and flew back home," Bates told the media on Thursday. "That was March 18th, and I was already back home. She was born on the 20th. I was able to be there. I was going to make sure I was there, no doubt."

As speculation circles the now-sophomore Bates about his potential breakout campaign ahead, the dynamic in the backcourt and the share of minutes on the floor this season, the birth of his child hasn't taken away from his focus on the game of basketball. Instead, it's given him a whole new purpose on life as well as the game that he's played for all of his.

"First off, it puts me in a whole different state of mind," Bates said. "I'm talking as soon as I saw her, it's kind of like just a flip switch. Now, everything that I'm doing, all the work that I'm putting in, it's not just for me. I want to provide for her and my family. It's like, getting up, those early mornings, late nights, and doing everything that I've been doing. I'm a lot more focused because I have a purpose, I would say."

Bates made mention during his press conference that improving his status as a leader, talker, and motivator for the team is something that he's desiring doing at an impactful level on the floor this season. With his new role as a father, although he says he tries not to mix the two, he may be in a prime position to translate his part as head of his family to a floor general role for Indiana.

"I feel like a lot of the leadership qualities that a father takes on in the household obviously translate to the basketball court," Bates said. "I have two totally different mindsets with my daughter and when I'm playing basketball. I feel like the focus and learning and constant growing, those are the things that you can combine, just like the stuff that goes into it and the stuff that you learn over the years, that you can relate to.

"I would just say that her being born was the thing that I didn't know I needed. It gave me a different kind of focus, different kind of drive, different kind of motivation. It came at the perfect time just after my freshman year and a lot of things went, you know, however they did, just having my baby girl born and not knowing how things were going to go as my girlfriend was pregnant and her finally getting here, it's like nowhere near as scary or as bad as I thought it was going to be.

"It's been good for me in terms of my basketball game and of course translate that to being a father."

Although Tamar hasn't been with his daughter much this summer, he knows that they are at home receiving good care from his girlfriend and his parents. However, it hasn't taken a toll on Bates or his family, as he knows she is surrounded by the right support system.

"Everybody pitches in any type of way they can," Bates said. "We all a family. The fact that we added her to the band, it's been really easy because everybody is in support. Everybody wants to help."

Bates has a great support system of his own at IU, as he and the team that he figures to play a significant role on are looking to chase history on the court and bring Indiana basketball's legacy and prominence back to center stage.

Yet still, Bates is aimed at fulfilling a legacy of his own that was instilled in him from an early age by his parents and passing on his love of basketball to the newest love in his life.

"Obviously, the main thing -- a statement of how I wrap my head around [his new purpose] is making sure her upbringing and how she's raised is better than how I was raised, and that's no knock at all to my parents," Bates said. "They did a fantastic job, but I want to out-do them. I want to do better than them, and that's how it's supposed to be.

"I just want to make sure she doesn't have to worry about anything, and just give her the world and everything that she can every dream about, but at the same time instill things in her that were instilled in me, which is that you have to work for everything that you get.

"I just can't wait until she gets a little older and starts being around the game. I feel like she'll just eventually want to pick the ball up because we're going to be in the gym all the time. I feel like that will -- that will be special. But I feel like just me saying that I have a new purpose, because before, I was just -- all my motivation and everything, obviously like from losing family members and just like, you know, me wanting to accomplish my dreams but now my dreams become her dreams and then the rest of my family, knowing it's not just myself I'm trying to do this for. I'm doing this for not only Leilani, my girl, my family, my parents.

"The fact that she's mine -- I already have my family but this, she's my responsibility. So, I need to make sure that she's taken care of."

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