Kentucky Recruiting Trouble

[Cheesehead]

Looks like UK is in a bind again. Turkish recruit Enes Kanter apparently received as much as $100,000 in salary, rent, and stipend while a member of a club team. Of course, I'm sure Calipari had no knowledge of this, as he is honest and clean as they come.

That's sarcasm.

[CinciX12]

Oh man, that just brings a tear to my eye. Cal is such a good guy, he'd never do anything like that!!

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I am shocked!!!

Cant wait to see the flock of UK supporters come to his support clamoring a "witch hunt" by the NCAA against Calipari. The same Calipari they attacked when he was at Memphis

[waggy]

What is a club team? Do they pay players, or is it like AAU?

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Look what just came out:

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/nkysports/2010/09/07/more-to-the-kanter-story-than-we-know/

"So the New York Times has continued its witchhunt against John Calipari and the Kentucky program with another story essentially quoting one person about the eligibility of Enes Kanter and largely ignoring the facts."

[GoMuskies]

The UK fans I know want to kill the NYT reporter. It's pretty amusing. Also, those people are clinically insane.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

http://www.lex18.com/news/ny-times-reports-enes-kanter-was-paid-100-000

Lexington article says the GM gave the NCAA records of the exchanges. Kanter is F'ed. Naturally it doesn't mean anything for UK - I'm sure they knew this and covered their tracks well.

[GoMuskies]

Kanter hadn't played for UK yet, and they weren't the ones paying him, so there is no reason this would result in any trouble for UK....other than having a wasted scholarship and a gaping hole in the middle.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Kanter hadn't played for UK yet, and they weren't the ones paying him, so there is no reason this would result in any trouble for UK....other than having a wasted scholarship and a gaping hole in the middle.

If the NCAA can prove that Cal knew about this and signed him anyways, can't they be punished? It doesn't matter because obviously Teflon Cal is smart enough to not leave a trail...

[GoMuskies]

I don't think so. Not if he didn't play for them (and they didn't pay him).

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I don't think so. Not if he didn't play for them (and they didn't pay him).

Interesting. So its a gamble worth taking in my opinion. I saw Kanter play in some tournament against the best high school players and the guy was an absolute beast. He's got a great career ahead of him regardless

[DoubleD86]

I don't like UK, so I am going to put that out there first.

On to the actual story:
First, Calipari did absolutely nothing wrong with the recruitment of this kid. He took a kid who was a beast in American high school ball, did what he thought was enough research, then signed him and waited for him to be declared eligible (which is still up in the air). I hate Calipari, but this issue has no "dirtiness" to it at all.

Second, I don't know if I buy this story. Not that I think the reporter did a poor job, but the GM of the Turkish club team is clearly pissed/bitter (read the article, it is quite clear) and has MUCH to gain if Enes is declared ineligible. Even if Enes never plays another game for Fenerbache (which I would have to imagine is the way it is) whoever signs him, NBA or otherwise, will have to pay Fenerbache a transfer fee. However, if he goes to college then gets signed in the draft, no such fee will be owed to Fenerbache.

Would it surprise me if he got paid? No. But I don't usually buy into "evidence" or claims from a source who clearly has something to gain/lose in a situation like this.

[Cheesehead]

I would think that the coaching staff at one of the top basketball programs in the country would do some background on a player like this. It's not uncommon for club teams to pay players in Europe. I am not suggesting that UK did anything wrong in the actual recruitment. However, would other programs go after a guy like this if they knew the potential baggage?

I can see the NCAA preventing this kid from playing right away; making him sit for a certain number of games. Which in this case would screw UK (yay) and the kid may return to Europe and then go directly to the NBA draft the following year. So, that hurts UK's program a bit. I guess it's worth it if the kids is that good. I don't know. This stuff just seems to follow Cal.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

An nba sports columnist for yahoo's twitter:

http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA

"Some top INTL bball officials at USA practice validated on @PeteThamelNYT Kanter probe: "We've all known that kid's already a pro," one said"

[Titanxman04]

Kanter hadn't played for UK yet, and they weren't the ones paying him, so there is no reason this would result in any trouble for UK....other than having a wasted scholarship and a gaping hole in the middle.

Your mom has a.... Wait, sorry... I won't go there. :D

[bobbiemcgee]

[QUOTE=GoMuskies;211736]Kanter hadn't played for UK yet, and they weren't the ones paying him, so there is no reason this would result in any trouble for UK.


Disagree. Cal has a history of dubious and crooked dealings. One more nail. He'll say he didn't know.....everyone will assume from his record he did know.

[MADXSTER]

With UK, the ends justify the means.

[GoMuskies]

Even if he did know, it wouldn't become an issue until they actually played Kanter. And that hasn't happened. It's a waste of time and money to recruit someone who is ineligible, but it's not against the rules.

No one is claiming UK was actually involved in paying Kanter (which would obviously be trouble whether he made it to UK or not).

[gladdenguy]

So is the consensus out there that Kanter will be playing for UK this year or not?

[Xman95]

So is the consensus out there that Kanter will be playing for UK this year or not?

I don't think he will.

[golfitup]

As a staunch UK hater they really never fail to disappoint in regards to giving me more reasons to hate them.

[smileyy]

I'll be pretty disappointed if he's ever eligible. Sounds like he was getting a salary far beyond just a "scholarship".

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

I don't think he will.



If he does it opens a can of worms in regards to foreign players.

[danaandvictory]

I would think that the coaching staff at one of the top basketball programs in the country would do some background on a player like this. It's not uncommon for club teams to pay players in Europe.

It's also not like Fenerbahce is some obscure provincial semipro club. It's the biggest professional sports organization in Turkey. Their soccer team is in the Champions League every year. Their basketball team is one of the more successful in Europe.

Six seconds on Wikipedia would have revealed this. UK is cheating again and the entire media is falling all over themselves to excuse it.

[smileyy]

Eric Bledsoe had a grade changed to make him eligible:

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=545

Ramifications unclear. If I had to guess, the school district will certify the change, and some sort of donation will randomly flow in from a Kentucky booster next year...

[xubrew]

Even if he did know, it wouldn't become an issue until they actually played Kanter. And that hasn't happened. It's a waste of time and money to recruit someone who is ineligible, but it's not against the rules.

No one is claiming UK was actually involved in paying Kanter (which would obviously be trouble whether he made it to UK or not).

this is absolutely correct.

a school could offer a scholarship to kobe bryant if they wanted to. that wouldn't be very smart because he'd be ineligible, but he could still receive athletic aid if for whatever reason some university wanted to offer it to him. uk could even still offer him the scholarship if they wanted to. he just wouldn't be able to play.

at this point in time, kentucky has broken no rules. had he played in a game with uk knowing that he shouldn't be eligible, then that would be another issue, but that hasn't happened. all this really means is that they're out a scholarship due to a player being ineligible. that is hardly an uncommon occurrance.

[smileyy]

Enes Kanter ruled ineligible. Let's see if Coach Cal can earn an honest Final Four.

[waggy]

Enes (Undertaker) Kanter ruled ineligible. There's a good joke in there somewhere.

[LadyMuskie]

I haven't followed the Kanter case very closely, but what I did read about it, I don't see how the NCAA could have come to any conclusion other than ineligible. I wouldn't think its a huge surprise to Coach Cal - although he has gotten away with a lot in the past . . .

[smileyy]

I haven't followed the Kanter case very closely, but what I did read about it, I don't see how the NCAA could have come to any conclusion other than ineligible. I wouldn't think its a huge surprise to Coach Cal - although he has gotten away with a lot in the past . . .

UK's hope was that Kanter's team in Turkey was essentially lying about Kanter's benefits/pay.

Kanter's former team (who have been accused of holding a grudge against him) claimed they were paying him as a professional athlete.

Kanter and UK were claiming that his benefits amounted to a prep school scholarship.

I would have been very surprised if he had been ruled eligible.

[XULucho27]

Calipari is relentless on the recruiting trail. He's already been sighted with a potential replacement for Kanter.

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/john-calipari-lebron-james.jpg

"Don't worry, we'll make sure you're eligible."

Can't wait for this guy to get caught red-handed. I just plain don't like him.

[XUglow]

Do I have this right? The NCAA actually said NO to UK on a recruiting/eligibility matter? People in Hell are probably wondering what that chill in the air is all about.

[Juice]

Do I have this right? The NCAA actually said NO to UK on a recruiting/eligibility matter? People in Hell are probably wondering what that chill in the air is all about.

I think this one was too big for the NCAA to ignore. When there is allegedly paper work proving compensation in the six figures, that is hard to just push to the side. But I would not have been surprised if he was ruled eligible, I was actually expecting it.

The next interesting ruling will be with Josh Selby at Kansas.

[danaandvictory]

How long until Michael Chandler becomes heavily linked with Kentucky? I say 24 hours.

[xubrew]

How long until Michael Chandler becomes heavily linked with Kentucky? I say 24 hours.

more likely it'll be uconn...

[waggy]

Kentucky has asked the NCAA to resubmit its eligibility case for freshman Enes Kanter, instead of seeking an appeal.

A source with knowledge of Kentucky's plan told ESPN.com the NCAA's decision on Auburn quarterback Cam Newton prompted the new approach.

Kanter was ruled permanently ineligible Nov. 11 for receiving "benefits above actual and necessary expenses while playing for a club basketball team in Turkey."

Kentucky then requested an appeal in front of the reinstatement committee that was scheduled for this week. But the Newton decision forced the school to alter its approach.

Newton was allowed uninterrupted game eligibility because it was determined he was not aware of his father shopping his services as quarterback to Mississippi State for pay.

Kentucky and the NCAA issued a joint statement Friday...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5880507

[xavierj]

The NCAA ruling opens up some major problems in my opinion. Now schools can just shell out the big bucks to kids parents and relatives and just tell the kid to say he knows nothing of it. Are you kidding me? Do serious people with brain functioning really believe that Cam Newton did not know his dad was shopping him? If not then how did he end up at Auburn? If it were up to Cam with no money being involved he would have gone to Miss. St. This is stupid.

[xu05usmc]

The NCAA ruling opens up some major problems in my opinion. Now schools can just shell out the big bucks to kids parents and relatives and just tell the kid to say he knows nothing of it. Are you kidding me? Do serious people with brain functioning really believe that Cam Newton did not know his dad was shopping him? If not then how did he end up at Auburn? If it were up to Cam with no money being involved he would have gone to Miss. St. This is stupid.

The NCAA's decision is logical. As long as Cam Newton and Auburn are title contenders the NCAA won't want to declare him ineligible. They need to milk as much money as they can out of the kid. My guess is Newton will be declared in eligible, but not until after the Bowl season is over. That way the NCAA and Auburn can get the maximum amount of money they can out of the kid. To be honest, I take Charles Barkley's position on the Cam Newton situation:

First of all I don’t know what happened about that, but if that guy only asked for $200K for Cam Newton they should fire him anyway.

[STL_XUfan]

I will start off by saying I think Cam Newton and his father are as guilty of this as the day is long.

However, this was a decision to take immediate action by the NCAA. In this case the NCAA found that there was not enough evidence right now to find him ineligible, and instead decided to take on the full investigation and let all the facts come out before making a decision. I am ok with this. I would much rather let the kid play now and be ruled ineligible later rather than run the risk of ruling him ineligible now and it turns out that he actually did nothing wrong and you took away his potential future for no reason at all.

Now there is a very legitimate question of whether the length of the full investigation has ulterior motives. However, when dealing with depriving a student athlete of his eligibility i would prefer err on the side of caution.

[xubrew]

The NCAA ruling opens up some major problems in my opinion. Now schools can just shell out the big bucks to kids parents and relatives and just tell the kid to say he knows nothing of it. Are you kidding me? Do serious people with brain functioning really believe that Cam Newton did not know his dad was shopping him? If not then how did he end up at Auburn? If it were up to Cam with no money being involved he would have gone to Miss. St. This is stupid.

that's not what happened. it wasn't that schools were offering him money, but rather his father was trying to solicit them. no school, auburn or mississippi state, was ever accused of giving him money. mississippi state was alledgedly asked for money, and said no. if they had been, the universities would have been in big trouble.

the reason he ended up at auburn was probably because it would be rather awkward going to a university that you tried to solicit money from only then to be told no and turned over to the ncaa. auburn and the ncaa were aware of this long before the public was. it happened almost a year ago, and we only heard about it a month ago.

[boozehound]

that's not what happened. it wasn't that schools were offering him money, but rather his father was trying to solicit them. no school, auburn or mississippi state, was ever accused of giving him money. mississippi state was alledgedly asked for money, and said no. if they had been, the universities would have been in big trouble.

the reason he ended up at auburn was probably because it would be rather awkward going to a university that you tried to solicit money from only then to be told no and turned over to the ncaa. auburn and the ncaa were aware of this long before the public was. it happened almost a year ago, and we only heard about it a month ago.

How sure are you about that?

[xubrew]

How sure are you about that?

i'm reasonably sure.

at the very least, the ncaa doesn't feel that any of the schools actually paid out any money, so to say that this ruling sets a precedent that makes it okay for schools to do that is incorrect. the accusation was that his father attempted to solicit money. that is completely different than saying that the schools actually paid them, and that the ncaa knew about it, and did nothing.

unless i completely missed something (which wouldn't be the first time). is there a link, or a ruling, that states that mississippi state and auburn actually gave him the money he was seeking??

[Juice]

How stupid could the NCAA be if they declare Kanter eligible now? Yes, I know they can be pretty stupid. UK is clearly just changing their argument to somehow fit in the Newton ruling when in fact the situations aren't even close at all. To claim that a kid who was playing for a professional club and had no idea he was receiving compensation is just flat out ridiculous.

[principal]

How stupid could the NCAA be if they declare Kanter eligible now? Yes, I know they can be pretty stupid. UK is clearly just changing their argument to somehow fit in the Newton ruling when in fact the situations aren't even close at all. To claim that a kid who was playing for a professional club and had no idea he was receiving compensation is just flat out ridiculous.

As much as I hate UK and every other big school, the facts should be correctly understood and presented. The initial issue was not whether or not Kanter received compensation. The initial issue was whether or not he received more than his actual and necessary expenses. Both the NCAA and UK have agreed that he did receive more than his actual and necessary expenses. Second, UK is not changing their argument. The NCAA, with the Cam Newton ruling, has provided schools the ability to argue that if the student-athlete (LOL) was unaware of his parents actions, then the student-athlete should not be punished. Third, according to what I have read Kanter was offered around 1MM to play ball but his parents declined the money and opted for what they thought was an acceptable (by NCAA rules) amount of money. It has been further stated that they signed paperwork declining the money and affirming that they wanted their son to remain an "amateur" for NCAA purposes. Fourth, the amount now in question is about 33k. According to the Kanter's they spent a permissable amount of money and that the remaining money is still in the father's account (I think it is about 13k) and they are willing to give it back. Fifth, the money paid was put into Kanter's father's account rather than into the school's account. As I understand it, this final point is where UK is now making its argument. They are arguing that Kanter did not know how much money his father had accepted and therefore could not possibly have known whether or not the amount exceeded permissable limits. Additionally the NCAA has failed to define "actual and necessary" expenses. What does this include, what does it exclude? UK may have a point - if Cam Netown's lack of knowledge about the fact that his father was shopping him is sufficient reason to declare him eligible, then why wouldn't Kanter's lack of knowledge of the amount of money obtained by his father be sufficient reason to make him eligible?

After doing quite a bit of reading on this case (out of sheer boredom) I can see the similarity between Newton and Kanter. I don't necessarily believe Kanter did not know how much money his father had received, and I see the difference between Netwon's father shopping him unsuccessfully and Kanter's father actually receiving money, but UK is going to argue that the general rule governing the Newton decision is that the student cannot be held responsible for the actions of his parents if he is unaware of those actions. If the NCAA does not declare Kanter eligible I think this is the difference they will point out, in addition to the fact that the money received went directly to the father rather than the school/team/whatever. On the other hand, if it is true that the Kanter's turned down around 1MM so that their son could remain eligible to play NCAA ball, that goes a long way in proving that they did not think they were doing anything wrong and would simultaneously make the NCAA culpable for a lack of clarity in the way their rules are written and communicated.

If all of the above is true - they didn't spend all of the money, they will give back the remaining amount, and they turned down 1MM, then I think this kid is getting a raw deal. Personally, I think they should have taken the 1MM. Life is tough and full of bad breaks. Take the money while you can.

[Cheesehead]

Can't wait for the house of cards to fall on Calipari (nothing to do w/ Kanter case) and UK. Sanctions follow Cal everywhere he goes. Just a matter of time.