"Pimpin' Your Son" Euro Edition: Father Says Enes Kanter Will Stay At Kentucky If Suspension Sticks

We previously blogged here that Kentucky freshman center Enes Kanter was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for illegal benefits he received while playing professionally overseas. Per this report over at The Sporting News Kanter's father says he will guarantee that Enes not declare for the NBA draft and will return to play at Kentucky next season if he is eligible:

“Enes would do anything to play and help UK, his teammates and fans,” Mehmet Kanter wrote. “In the last two years, one thing me and Enes never discussed was him being pro. He didn’t mention to me about NBA or draft and I guarantee you as a father – if that’s the NCAA's decision Enes will be a sophomore next year in UK.”

Mehmet Kanter (the father) also goes on to say that his son was unaware of any monetary exchanges and all were conducted between the team and himself:

“I been saying from beginning of the review there has never been any monetary exchange between Enes and Fenerbahce,” Mehmet Kanter said. “Enes was 16 years old, never had any knowledge about any accounts and everything has been between me and Fenerbahce.”

Maybe this is a noble effort on the father's part to defend his son's chances of receiving a college education. Maybe it's a cover up to protect his son's credibility to future NBA suitors. Who knows. One thing I do know is that overseas it is 100% legal for a minor to play professional ball and also 100% legal for parent of said minor to profit off their kid's abilities. Why Cecil Newton didn't think of this is beyond me. He could have pimped Cam out to a Euro league and been scott free.

Mehmet Kanter even says he will repay the $30k that has kept young Enes off the court this season. Sure he will. And if he does, it only makes me wonder exactly how much the Kanters have stacked up from hoops. I'm going to take a guess that it's a lot more than $30k.

Either way, I hope Enes Kanter gets a chance to play at least one year of college ball and doesn't end up riding the pine or on a D-League roster next season. Oh, and that he also gets a bit of a college education, which it the important thing in all of this, right? Sure it is.

-ALR

Freshman Enes Kanter Ineligible For Kentucky Wildcats

Tough blow for the Kentucky Wildcats... Per this report on ESPN, Freshman big man Enes Kanter has been ruled out for this season due to illegal benefits he received while playing professionally in Turkey (no Iverson). Of course, Kentucky plans to appeal the NCAA's decision.

The 6'11 272 lb Kanter played three seasons professionally overseas and was expected to have a big impact on the Wildcats chances of replacing all of the talent that jumped to the NBA draft this summer. The report says Kanter was paid over $33k more than his expenses for the 2008-2009 season in Turkey.

The news is unfortunate for Kanter as he was playing professionally overseas to help prepare him to take his game to the states. The 18 year old forward/center is currently ranked #5 on ESPN's big board for the 2011 draft. If the ineligibly ruling sticks the best option for Kanter may be to just make the jump to the NBA, which he was probably going to do anyway.

Kentucky is currently ranked #11 in the nation. Still, it's hard for Kentucky to replace a 6-11 mobile big man in the middle. Best of luck to coach Calipari and the Wildcats this season.

-ALR