So if Kanter is ruled ineligible, how big a blow is it to Sandy Bell, who has a great reputation for crossing Ts and dotting Is. UK fans, myself included, have said there is no way Cal could have gotten anything shady past Bell.

 

Honestly I don't think they've done anything wrong at this point, if they tried to play him then that would be a different story but they've done no such thing. I think they'll say they're glad it's over and done with if this is indeed true but it shouldn't be a blemish on their record as he never played for the team and it was bc of this that he hasn't.

 

FWIW I still don't know that I completely trust what this guy is saying mostly because of how Turkey's national team handle the situation with the player from WVU, makes me really wonder if they went at Kanter the same way and he said sorry not going to play for you.

I would say no blow at all. I don't think anyone has gotten one by her. I would say all of this was discussed with her and Barnhart long before they took kanter. This possibility has been known for a while and it it looks like UK was more proactive here to take care of it before hand rather than after. I mean right now for all we know the 100,000 grand is completely false, so much of this depends on what the Turkey team releases which up until this week or so apparently they've not been very cooperative.

 

Agreed HT721 and I know you aren't a UK fan, so I appreciate you're unbiased opinion, but in all seriousness the way this is worded, what's considered benefits, and is this $100,000 is room and board over the years that he'd played with the team. I mean depending on where they played and the team stayed, 100k isn't much for expenses over a long period of time for a team. Sure it's alot to us if we're traveling but not for a team like this, I doubt they stayed at the Red Roof Inn international....

This just doesn't sound right. They claim they paid him for 3 years? So when he was 13 or 14 they were paying him? Over $6,000 per month when he was 16?

 

As someone on here mentioned when the WVU player had trouble with leaving Turkey and not playing for the national team in his age group, the Turks will stop at nothing to ruin someone who crosses them!

 

Enes did not go back to Turkey this summer to play, he could be playing now in Turkey in the FIBA mens WC. Are they providing false information because Enes did not come back home to play and it's their way of getting back at him?

 

This says all I need to hear from them "Karakas and Fenerbahce’s basketball chief executive, Aydin Ors, both said they were unhappy with the way Kanter left the club"! Sounds like sour grapes and people who may do anything to get back at a kid!

Edited September 8, 201016 yr by SportsGuy41017

It's amazing how hard Pete Thamel goes after Calipari. I mean, the guy flew to Turkey to file this report. Also amusing that Forde was so quick to praise him for "impressive" reporting on Twitter.

 

I believe Thamel was in Istanbul covering the FIBA International Championships. Let's all just not jump to conclusions, and let this thing play out.

Fenerbahce stands to benefit if Kanter is declared ineligible to play college basketball since the team would be due a transfer fee if he plays in Europe next season.

 

They would get $300,000 in transfer fees if he would play in the Euro League next year.

 

Karakas and Fenerbahce’s basketball chief executive, Aydin Ors, both said they were unhappy with the way Kanter left the club because they had invested heavily in his development.

 

This is how many club teams feel in Europe, especially in eastern Europe. They feel that THEY made you the player that you are, and they think that they are entitled to something because of it when you leave them for another team. They feel that they invested time and money into you and if someone else is now going to benefit from having you that they deserve money too.

 

I have seen this first hand in eastern Europe, a player is interested in going to another team, their coach tells the player, their parents and their new coach that they want money for the time and effort they spent to develope the player that they will now lose, they think they own the player!

I am not a UK fan.

 

I have a hard time believing this report because it came from Thamel. I think he has an axe to grind with Calipari. I am intrigued by what the NCAA will find out.

 

I have never thought Forde hated UK. I like his work because when his work is at a national level I feel I understand things he says better than the average reader because I am in the state of Kentucky.

 

Tipton apologized for his mistaken reporting on Patterson. I can't hate on a man who can admit he was wrong in print. As was mentioned earlier he writes about the icky stuff UK fans don't want to admit exist. I enjoy his work also.

 

I like Matt Jones and Maggard. In this Kanter issue I agree with both them.

I am not a UK fan.

 

I have a hard time believing this report because it came from Thamel. I think he has an axe to grind with Calipari. I am intrigued by what the NCAA will find out.

 

I have never thought Forde hated UK. I like his work because when his work is at a national level I feel I understand things he says better than the average reader because I am in the state of Kentucky.

 

Tipton apologized for his mistaken reporting on Patterson. I can't hate on a man who can admit he was wrong in print. As was mentioned earlier he writes about the icky stuff UK fans don't want to admit exist. I enjoy his work also.

 

I like Matt Jones and Maggard. In this Kanter issue I agree with both them.

 

I am a UK fan.

 

I agree with everything you just said.

 

I do think Forde's articles when Pitino was coach were much more pro-UK, but I couldn't really care less who he likes and who he doesn't.

 

Forde wrote one article that I thought was way off base. Everything else is out there and not made up, so I have no problem with him whatsoever.

 

As far as Matt Jones - I look at his site first before I do anything else online. I look at it because it usually is a quick summary of all things UK with links to other articles as well as the writers are FANS and are very clever and witty. Anything past that, doesn't effect me. I'm not a journalism major and don't really care about the differences in blogs/true media outlets.

 

As far as the Kanter/Sandy Bell question from earlier - UK at this point has done nothing wrong. If he never plays and is deemed ineligible it hurts this year's team, but brings no baggage. I feel confident they will not make a mistake in handling this. FWIW, I said 2 months ago that he wont suit up for UK. Just my opinion.

Under FIBA rules, don't you have to be 18 to sign a professional contract? So his Turkish club is basically admitting to violating FIBA rules?

I think everyone is overlooking the motivation of Turkey and this club team to do anything possible to block Kanter from coming to the United States. They would like to prevent this with any means possible to prevent all their young talent from leaving in the future. There is no reason to just believe everything this GM says as he has his own agenda and has provided no actual proof at this point.

 

As for Thamel, he is doing Forde's dirty work because Forde is no longer allowed to hammer UK and Calipari. They are both excellent journalists, but they also both have some personal issues with Calipari that motivate their work.

 

As for Kentucky, if we lose Kanter, we have Harrellson left in the post and that's it. We will have to become a very guard-oriented team and while we will win plenty of games, it will be difficult to be great. With Kanter, anything is possible, but depth is going to be an issue late in the season.

Waiting for GT to chime in on this...

If the Turkish club produces anything that shows the kid was paid to play basketball there, then isn't it a done deal for him ever being cleared by the NCAA? From what I've read about the story, it's hard for me to believe this kid deserves to be cleared to play by the NCAA. I hope I'm wrong...

Doesn't sound good for UK, but it's a little sad when a team starts giving money (a nominal fee at best) and paying rent, etc, for a 16 year old kid and then basicly punishing him a few years later because he is't playing for them anymore. Abuse and taking advantage of a minor IMO. I hope the NCAA can see through what they are trying to do to this young man and rule him eligible, but I highly doubt that happens.

Duquense assistant coach quoted in the NYT article says that Thamel twisted his words and ignored some others. This, according to Matt Jones:

 

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=59854

I hate to say it, but Matt Jones makes some interesting points--especially on the bolded:

 

5. What Will the Publicity Do to the Decision?: In reality, while the New York Times article gets a bold headline with the money amount, the information in it isnt necessarily new. Everyone knew Kanter was given some money, the question was just how much and what for. The NCAA also obviously knew what was given by the Turkish team, especially if the papers were sent to them. The only difference is now the public knows. That means the media can all Retweet each other and pat each other on the back, but it also means that the NCAA will feel it has to publically justify whatever decision it makes. A 100,000 dollar payment is a juicy headline and even if the ultimate decision to declare Kanter eligible makes sense under the rule, the NCAA will feel pressure to be very thorough in explaining why, with the Thamel/Forde press brigade waiting to pounce. That publicity could push a close case in the other direction and might make the NCAA simply decide that ineligibility is the easier decision to justify.