Kentucky got bad news...Enes Kanter ruled ineligible by NCAA

Cal's a cheater. The UK fanbase demands winning at the expense of basic ethical rules. This was inevitable, and there's more to come. I may actually feel a bit sorry for UK fans if their program gets the death penalty before they actually win anything under Cal.
 

Probably because they don't actually care about what happens to these kids. They'd rather just make pithy remarks because they don't like a particular coach or institution. That's pathetic in my book but to each his own.

Please. UK sold it's soul to get in bed with Coach Sleeze. It deserves whatever it gets and then some. And anyone who commits to play for Coach Sleeze also knows what they are getting into. This kid probably didn't have many options, because not many coaches would be so sleazy as to actually try and put this past the NCAA. This is probably a fine kid, and he can do just about anything he wants. But playing NCAA basketball isn't one of them. He's made his choices.
 

Probably because they don't actually care about what happens to these kids. They'd rather just make pithy remarks because they don't like a particular coach or institution. That's pathetic in my book but to each his own.

Oh, yes, Enes is such a victim. Enes has been robbed of the UK educational experience. Oh wait, he is still a student there. Enes has been robbed of the ability to play basketball. Oh wait, he can just go back to Europe and do that at the drop of a hat. Enes has been robbed of the opportunity to make the NBA. Oh wait, he will be picked in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft regardless of what he does this year. The only "loser" here is Kentucky. NCAA basketball doesn't need Enes Kanter, nobody outside of Kentucky who follows college basketball is going to be less interested because Kanter is ineligible. Kentucky needs Enes Kanter to play basketball, but Kanter doesn't need Kentucky.

The NCAA, UK and the Kanter's all agreed the money wasn't the issue. What was at issue was how the money was dispersed.

So the money was "agreed" to not be the issue, yet it still was the issue. OK, gotcha. Why don't you go to work to help UK find new ways to "disperse" their payroll, as clearly you think UK can pay players anything as long as it's "dispersed" properly.
 


Coach Cal clearly tried to slip one past the goalie here. Kentucky agrees with the NCAA that Kanter was paid $33,033 more for the '08-'09 season than he was permitted to receive, yet still think he should be eligible. I guess anything $200K or below is "collegial" when Calipari is in town.

And FOT was trying to convince people that Sandy Bell was so good she would not let anything like this slip past her. LOL. Kentucky is admitting this kid was a pro, and they still are trying to appeal to get him to be able to play college basketball. That's brazen.

I said Sandy Bell would not UK pay Kanter or any recruit $ to attend UK.

This case is entirely different. You are from OSU. I realize that leaves you on the low IQ side but even you should understand the difference.
 


True that.

Where is FoS now on this? He said Kanter was guaranteed to play because he personally knows Sandy Bell in UK Compliance and she would NEVER admit a student-athlete who would be deemed ineligible by the NCAA?

It's a no brainer on this one; the guy was paid money above living expenses & education = he was a professional player. At least some of the people on Cat's Pause aren't entirely shocked by this decision...

Utterly false. Never said anything like that at all. Tell the truth or shut up.

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/11/13/1522737/uk-to-put-face-on-kanter-appeal.html
 

Mike Decourcy Of TSN Opines

So it wasn’t really hundreds of thousands of dollars. And there wasn’t a salary. And Enes Kanter is not an actual professional basketball player.

For now, though, he also is not a college basketball player. And that is the NCAA’s shame.

Late Thursday afternoon, Kanter, a freshman at Kentucky, was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA’s student-athlete reinstatement staff for “receiving benefits above his actual and necessary expenses” while playing in the Fenerbahce club system in his native Turkey.

The NCAA revealed in its declaration of Kanter’s ineligibility that the amount in question is $33,033. According to a source close to the process, about $20,000 of that money was used by the Kanter family to pay for Kanter’ educational expenses—such as schooling and tutors—with the remainder still sitting in an account unused. The NCAA told the family that Fenerbahce would have needed to pay for those expenses directly for them to be permissible.

The Kanters made it clear they were willing to return the available funds—and even repay the 20 grand because they weren’t aware of NCAA procedures and regulations—but the staff declined the offer.

According to the NCAA, actual and necessary expenses are those relating to practice and competition, such as meals, lodging, transportation and medical care.

“Enes took advantage of an opportunity to play at the highest level available to him, but the consequences of receiving payments above his actual expenses is not compatible with the collegiate model of sports that our members have developed,” Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs, said in a statement released by the organization.

Kanter is a 6-11, 262-pound center who spent last season at Stoneridge Prep in California. He played three years in the Fenerbahce system, primarily on junior teams but also in nine games of the 2008-09 season with the club’s senior squad.

What is frustrating about the NCAA’s decision is its guiding principle in many amateurism cases has been the “intent to professionalize.”

For Kanter to “professionalize” would have been quite simple. He could have stayed home. He could have signed a contract with Fenerbahce worth multiple millions of dollars. He could played in front of his family and friends and quite possibly have been selected this past summer to compete with the Turkey national team that, in its home country, finished second in the FIBA World Championships. If he’d been on that team, he would have received a condominium and a share of an $18 million bonus pool created for the players by the Turkish government.

Given all of this, Kanter’s intent to “amateurize” was quite clear. He left his home. He traveled roughly 5,000 miles to the United States. He searched through several prep schools to find one that would allow a player who had competed in games with professionals to participate on its team. He worked to achieve academic eligibility to compete as an NCAA freshman. He enrolled at the University of Kentucky and attended summer classes and passed on the national team because it would have interfered with fall semester classes at UK.

And then he subjected himself to the NCAA’s excruciating and invasive amateurism review. The process is unpleasant, unyielding and at times unfair. But Kanter and his family endured all of it.

One might expect a person willing to fight that hard to be a part of intercollegiate athletes is someone the NCAA staff would want to include in its competitions. But one would be incorrect.

With the membership having changed the rules on international players to make the process of entering college basketball less punitive—West Virginia center Deniz Kilicli, for instance, had to sit out 20 games of his freshman season in 2009-10—the staff has undermined that detente by focusing on the Kanters’ execution rather than their intent.

NCAA basketball is the best place in the world for young players to enhance their talents. U.S. colleges and their students benefit greatly from the diversity foreign students provide. But the organization’s slamming door will discourage the best international prospects from wanting to play here.

Max Ergul, Kanter’s adviser in the process of immigrating to the U.S., said he expected the organization’s decision to be disappointing. “But I’m happy that it’s still alive,” he said, pinning his hopes for Enes to play at Kentucky on the university’s planned appeal to the NCAA’s student-athlete reinstatement committee, which is composed of representatives from member schools and conferences. Kentucky plans to file the appeal soon after returning from its participation in the Maui Invitational in late November.

It’s hard to know what the appeals committee will decide, given how rarely the NCAA declares a high-profile athlete to be permanently ineligible.

It’s fairly clear a just decision would allow Kanter to take the court for Kentucky at some point this winter, but with the NCAA having already fired an airball, justice seems like a long-range shot.
 

Well the UK folks win. They have googled irrefutable proof that UK and coach Cal would never do anything questionable. We are all wrong. They can go back to Cat Pause now.
 

Well the UK folks win. They have googled irrefutable proof that UK and coach Cal would never do anything questionable. We are all wrong. They can go back to Cat Pause now.

Louisville won a similar appeal (different reasons) on a freshman center just last month.
 



The bigger news here is that it is going to set a precedent for other elite foreign players wanting to come to play in the NCAA. We won't see quite so much interest from one-and-done players looking for a year of exposure to NBA scouts before leaving for the draft. Enes gambled by taking a lot less money the last 2 years overseas for the chance to get the UK exposure.
 

DeCourcy is a staunch Coach Cal supporter - of course he's going to take UK's side. Now, the facts are that Kentucky AGREED that Kanter received $33,033 in extra, impermissible benefits, so the denial on appeal should be a slam dunk. Rules are rules, and the NCAA has found what happened in the Kanter case breaks their rules - ultimately that's all that matters. If the rules are wrong, then it's on the NCAA to change the rules, but they can't make a ruling that eviscerates the rules and creates loopholes so college coaches can go recruit European pros. The NCAA has to protect the spirit and letter of their laws. If they allow Kanter to play, then they'd be opening up a can of worms because he's received extra benefits that everyone agrees aren't within the rules, so then in future cases other kids could use Kanter as a precedent and say "education is what the money was for, I'm just like Enes Kanter" even if it wasn't. Not only would allowing Kanter to play probably be the wrong decision from a moral standpoint (in my opinion, the kid was a pro), it would also be a horrible precedent for the NCAA. So even if you accept what DeCourcy argues, that it would be morally right to let him play, it would still be a very bad precedent for the NCAA, and I don't see how the ruling could possibly be reversed given the implications of setting aside the rules against impermissible extra benefits.

FOT, I believe you are confusing academic and amateur issues once again - Dieng was denied initially because of academics (even though he had a 31 ACT score), as the NCAA initially ruled he should have graduated in Africa and not enrolled in prep school in America - the issue was whether Dieng had taken too many semesters of high school. Clearly the situations are not alike. Kanter's case would (if he was allowed to play) encourage kids to get paid under the table and then claim the money was for education. The implications of Dieng's case would (if anything) encourage kids to take more semesters of high school than they are permitted and try to claim they graduated in the appropriate number of semesters (seriously, who's going to try to take 10 semesters of HS when they can graduate in 8?).
 

DeCourcy is a staunch Coach Cal supporter - of course he's going to take UK's side.

So this makes what he says untrue or inaccurate? So you dismiss anything that you personally don't agree with as automatically biased?


Now, the facts are that Kentucky AGREED that Kanter received $33,033 in extra, impermissible benefits, so the denial on appeal should be a slam dunk.

The Appeals Committee works in a different way. They take into account circumstance and intent more so than the letter of the law.

rules are rules and the NCAA has found what happened in the Kanter case breaks their rules - ultimately that's all that matters.

The NCAA has a history of selective enforcement of its rules.

but they can't make a ruling that eviscerates the rules and creates loopholes so college coaches can go recruit European pros.

I agree with what you're saying to an extent and while it was a technical violation the circumstances and documentation don't agree with the spirit of the law.

If they allow Kanter to play, then they'd be opening up a can of worms because he's received extra benefits that everyone agrees aren't within the rules, so then in future cases other kids could use Kanter as a precedent and say "education is what the money was for, I'm just like Enes Kanter" even if it wasn't

You're wrong in your interpretations. The amount of money isn't the problem. The way the money was transacted was. The Kanter's didn't recieve the money and then decide to spend it on education. The intent of the money was always for the education per the club agreement. Where the disconnect happened was that the Kanter's either were ignorant of it or misunderstood the rule. They just assumed they could receive the money themselves and disperse it (which create the impermissible benefits situation) instead of Febernache directly paying for it.

Not only would allowing Kanter to play probably be the wrong decision from a moral standpoint (in my opinion, the kid was a pro), it would also be a horrible precedent for the NCAA.

I disagree with your opinion (I think given the facts at hand it's blatantly apparent the Kanter's didn't want to professionalize either of their sons despite having millions thrown at them) and the NCAA's already made their ruling. They have no real input into the appeal. It's a separate entity entirely.


So even if you accept what DeCourcy argues, that it would be morally right to let him play, it would still be a very bad precedent for the NCAA, and I don't see how the ruling could possibly be reversed given the implications of setting aside the rules against impermissible extra benefits.

You mean like Dee Bost dropping out of school, declaring for the draft and then not getting drafted but claiming ignorance of the entrance deadline? Or Renardo Sidney receiving 11,000 dollars and extravagant housing, lying and stonewalling the NCAA with threats of lawsuits but ultimately getting his eligibility restored? Or Cory Maggette or Randolph Morris or a host of others.

But the Kanter's, who did everything right except misread or misunderstand a rule (despite documenting every penny and returning the excess amount to a Club escrow account where it sat) and turned down something around 6-7 million dollars (including 1.8 million dollars to play on the Turkish National Team last summer instead opting for summer school) are going to have their son deemed a professional and stripped of his eligibility for 33k that would have been permissible if the checks had been written by the Febernache instead of the Kanter's themselves.

Thankfully, the appeals committee takes into account more than the letter of the law.
 

DeCourcy is a staunch Coach Cal supporter - of course he's going to take UK's side. Now, the facts are that Kentucky AGREED that Kanter received $33,033 in extra, impermissible benefits, so the denial on appeal should be a slam dunk. Rules are rules, and the NCAA has found what happened in the Kanter case breaks their rules - ultimately that's all that matters. If the rules are wrong, then it's on the NCAA to change the rules, but they can't make a ruling that eviscerates the rules and creates loopholes so college coaches can go recruit European pros. The NCAA has to protect the spirit and letter of their laws. If they allow Kanter to play, then they'd be opening up a can of worms because he's received extra benefits that everyone agrees aren't within the rules, so then in future cases other kids could use Kanter as a precedent and say "education is what the money was for, I'm just like Enes Kanter" even if it wasn't. Not only would allowing Kanter to play probably be the wrong decision from a moral standpoint (in my opinion, the kid was a pro), it would also be a horrible precedent for the NCAA. So even if you accept what DeCourcy argues, that it would be morally right to let him play, it would still be a very bad precedent for the NCAA, and I don't see how the ruling could possibly be reversed given the implications of setting aside the rules against impermissible extra benefits.

FOT, I believe you are confusing academic and amateur issues once again - Dieng was denied initially because of academics (even though he had a 31 ACT score), as the NCAA initially ruled he should have graduated in Africa and not enrolled in prep school in America - the issue was whether Dieng had taken too many semesters of high school. Clearly the situations are not alike. Kanter's case would (if he was allowed to play) encourage kids to get paid under the table and then claim the money was for education. The implications of Dieng's case would (if anything) encourage kids to take more semesters of high school than they are permitted and try to claim they graduated in the appropriate number of semesters (seriously, who's going to try to take 10 semesters of HS when they can graduate in 8?).

I said D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T R-E-A-S-O-N-S for the Louisville player. But he DID win his appeal. It's possible.
 



The amount of money isn't the problem. The way the money was transacted was. The Kanter's didn't recieve the money and then decide to spend it on education. The intent of the money was always for the education per the club agreement. Where the disconnect happened was that the Kanter's either were ignorant of it or misunderstood the rule. They just assumed they could receive the money themselves and disperse it (which create the impermissible benefits situation) instead of Febernache directly paying for it.

I don't think you have a logical argument if you agree that the way the money was transacted was a problem, i.e., believe a direct payment to the recruit's family is impermissible. If you agree that a direct payment is impermissible (and everyone has agreed that it violates the rules), you can't disagree with my logic that granting Kanter eligibility would be a horrible precedent because future European pros who were paid directly would be able to gain eligibility by pointing to Kanter's case and saying "I was being paid for education just like Enes Kanter." Again, what's to stop future recruits from doing that? That's a huge loophole that the NCAA just can't allow.
 

If the kid was coming to the US to play basketball on a full scholarship why does he need money for his education from a semi-pro/pro basketball team in Turkey?

Also, ignorance of a rule is never an acceptable argument.
 


How could the saintly Sandy Bell ever have tried to help get Kanter eligible? Obviously the young man did not belong in NCAA basketball after he/his family accepted the impermissible benefits from the European pro team. UK agreed that they had received $33K in extra, impermissible benefits. The talking heads out there criticizing the NCAA for this decision are foolish.
 





Top Bottom