Kentucky recruit Enes Kanter took $100K from Turkish pro team

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Friend Of Tubby said:
ACADEMICALLY cleared. And he was.
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Clipped from Lex H-l article last spring by Jerry Tipton:

UK signee Kanter is on everyone's radar now
Turkish big man turned heads at Summit
By Jerry Tipton / herald-leader.com

UK signee Enes Kanter played for Turkey in the 2009 U-18 European Championship. Kanter came to the United States last August and played for Stone Ridge Prep in Simi Valley, Calif. "He's not the typical European big man," Evan Daniels said of Kanter. "He's physical, strong and a real good rebounder."

As recruiting analysts saw it, Kentucky sent a message to college basketball on Wednesday. Two messages, actually, when arguably the best prospects in the high school junior and senior classes committed to the Cats.

"Sort of a display of strength," analyst Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com called the commitments by senior point guard Brandon Knight and junior forward Michael Gilchrist.

The commitments declared that Kentucky's few years of wandering the basketball wilderness were over. These commitments on the first day of the monthlong spring signing period signaled that no matter the loss of talent, or maybe because of it in this age of so-called one-and-done players, UK could remain an elite program.

"I had never heard of him tearing up any camps," Sullinger said Friday.
So Kanter presented quite a calling card in the game. He scored 34 points, breaking Dirk Nowitzki's 12-year-old record for the World Select Team, and grabbed 13 rebounds.

The USA Junior National Select Team won 101-97 with Sullinger scoring 22 points. But Kanter won, too, setting records for field goals made (13) and attempted (21) and stamping himself as an elite player. With Kanter signing a national letter of intent with Kentucky earlier this week, that's good news for a program looking to reload after announcing that five players planned to enter this year's NBA Draft.

"His skill ability is off the charts," Sullinger said after a practice for the Jordan Brand Classic here on Saturday. "He's going to be a really great basketball player on the (college) level."

A native of Turkey, Kanter came to the United States last summer and played this past season for Stoneridge Preparatory School in Simi Valley, Calif. He ranks 25th on ESPNU's Top 100 and is rated a five-star player by both Rivals.com and Scout.com recruiting services.

Kanter played for the Turkish under-18 national team in 2009 and was named MVP after averaging 18.6 points and a tournament-best 16.4 rebounds as Turkey won the bronze medal at the European Championships.

But before Kanter stars for Kentucky as a seemingly solid replacement for one-and-done DeMarcus Cousins, he must gain his initial eligibility. His amateur status is clouded because he played for a Turkish pro team before coming to the United States.

But Calipari said on ESPNU on Wednesday that he had been assured that Kanter was never paid.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," Calipari said on ESPNU. "He's been cleared by the clearinghouse."

The UK coach misspoke.

NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynne said Friday that Kanter had not gained his eligibility.

"The prospective student-athlete has registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center and the certification process is ongoing," Wynne wrote in an e-mail.

That process is two-fold because any player must be judged eligible academically and be deemed an amateur.
UK figures not to know about Kanter's eligibility for some time. Typically, the NCAA handles cases involving fall sports like football, first. That caseload can consume the summer months. Then the NCAA Eligibility Center turns its attention to winter sports like basketball.

During his appearance on ESPNU, Calipari suggested that players cannot sign with European teams until 18 years of age. Since Kanter is only 17, he was not allowed to be a professional.

Calipari also said the NCAA was softening its view of the amateur status of European players. "Instead of if you played in five games when you were 16 years old, that means you miss five games, they're going back and they're changing that ... based on European basketball is not like basketball here in the States," he said.

The NCAA is exploring such a reform. But that reform has not yet been approved. Under existing rules, if anyone on the team got paid to play, that pay could impact the eligibility of someone like Kanter.

Players in that situation ultimately can gain eligibility, but they can be ordered to sit out a number of games.
 

I really doubt Kanter see's the court at Kentucky, if he does, I can easily see Calipari forfeiting another trip to Final Four.
 


mnboiler said:
I really doubt Kanter see's the court at Kentucky, if he does, I can easily see Calipari forfeiting another trip to Final Four.
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It won't get that far. UK cannot play him unless Clearinghouse approves. UK is not Memphis.
 


If you know anything about Turkey or the Euroleague in general you wouldn't be shocked. They basically put a gun to the young man from WVU this summer and said play for the national team or you'll be drafted into the Army. A notorious cesspool over there that wants to nip losing young talent to the NCAA in the bud before it even begins because the NCAA actually decided to do the right thing (for once) and realize things aren't the same the world over.

Of course, headline grabbers and a cadre of journalists out to bring down one man aren't going to be concerned with the actual truth of the situation which is fairly simple: This decision could be worth tens of millions of dollars to just Turkish Basketball.
 

The Truth said:
If you know anything about Turkey or the Euroleague in general you wouldn't be shocked. They basically put a gun to the young man from WVU this summer and said play for the national team or you'll be drafted into the Army. A notorious cesspool over there that wants to nip losing young talent to the NCAA in the bud before it even begins because the NCAA actually decided to do the right thing (for once) and realize things aren't the same the world over.

Of course, headline grabbers and a cadre of journalists out to bring down one man aren't going to be concerned with the actual truth of the situation which is fairly simple: This decision could be worth tens of millions of dollars to just Turkish Basketball.
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The resolution will be even simpler. IF he was paid a salary, he'll play 0 NCAA games ever. If his expenses were overpaid, he'll sit out some games - maybe 1/2 the regular season (14 games) like Randolph Morris did in 2006-07.
 



mnboiler said:
I really doubt Kanter see's the court at Kentucky, if he does, I can easily see Calipari forfeiting another trip to Final Four.
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Both of these things will happen at some point in the future, whether Kanter's at Kentucky or not, Calipari and UK will make a final four, and that final four will be wiped out because of major NCAA violations that can't be traced back to Calipari. Of course, they'll be wiped out after Cal's moved on. He really is the sleaziest coach in the NCAA right now, and that includes Thuggins.
 

jmag21 said:
Both of these things will happen at some point in the future, whether Kanter's at Kentucky or not, Calipari and UK will make a final four, and that final four will be wiped out because of major NCAA violations that can't be traced back to Calipari. Of course, they'll be wiped out after Cal's moved on. He really is the sleaziest coach in the NCAA right now, and that includes Thuggins.
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Spoken like someone who doesn't have any clue.
 

The Truth said:
Spoken like someone who doesn't have any clue.
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Still clinging to that tripe, huh hillbilly boy?

Cal is a cheating, slimy, scumbag. He's not a victim of circumstance, the media, or agents. He cheats, wins, cheats some more, and gets out before the hammer comes down.

I can't wait for the next episode, but I'm pretty sure I know how it ends.
 

The Truth said:
Spoken like someone who doesn't have any clue.
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I usually don't get involved with the UK folks that frequent our board, but I HAVE to ask...do you honestly, in your heart (take off your UK blinders for a second) think Calipari runs a 100% clean program?
 



ShowinGoldyLove said:
I usually don't get involved with the UK folks that frequent our board, but I HAVE to ask...do you honestly, in your heart (take off your UK blinders for a second) think Calipari runs a 100% clean program?
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At UK, yes (in terms of No NCAA Violations). Sandy Bell (et al) won't permit anything less.
 

You call people like Huggins and Calipari "scumbags" and "sleazeballs" based on what exactly? Do you know these men personally? Probably not. You just form your thoughts around random incidents and the manipulation of public opinion by the media. I see it in this country everyday on issues like health care reform, illegal immigration and issues pertaining to the place of American Muslims in our society.

Sorry if I don't subscribe to that mentality. I reserve pejorative terms for people who actually do horrible and terrible things to others with no care or concern. You may not like those men or the programs they lead but to assign them labels based upon the ebbs and flows of media driven public opinion is just something I won't agree with.
 


The Truth said:
You call people like Huggins and Calipari "scumbags" and "sleazeballs" based on what exactly? Do you know these men personally? Probably not. You just form your thoughts around random incidents and the manipulation of public opinion by the media. I see it in this country everyday on issues like health care reform, illegal immigration and issues pertaining to the place of American Muslims in our society.

Sorry if I don't subscribe to that mentality. I reserve pejorative terms for people who actually do horrible and terrible things to others with no care or concern. You may not like those men or the programs they lead but to assign them labels based upon the ebbs and flows of media driven public opinion is just something I won't agree with.
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I know Huggins personally. He's not perfect but no scumbag, either.
 



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