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Professional Basketball Player Headlines 2010 Kentucky Recruiting Class

John Calipari is such a great recruiter that now even professional players want in on the action at Kentucky. The New York Times is reporting that five-star recruit Enes Kanter of Turkey may have received a salary from the Turkish team Fenerbache Ulker before coming to the United States. From Pete Thamel’s article:

Karakas said that Fenerbahce provided housing to Kanter and his family for more than three years, provided them with food and pocket money and paid Kanter a salary of more than $6,500 a month during his final season.

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.

The last part of that quote may indicate that the situation is sour grapes from the team he left, but they have turned over their financial records to the NCAA. Although on the surface it looks like Kanter and UK are doomed, international players are treated differently from American prospects in terms of eligibility.

Luke Winn of SI offers some hope for Wildcats fans hoping to see the big man play in Lexington this year:

There is no precedent for a European player paying back salary to his former club team and being allowed to play college basketball in the U.S. The NCAA allows club-connected players to receive basic benefits and nothing more.

So there is a chance that Calipari and UK can find a justifiable explanation that will allow Kanter to play. Make no mistake about it – Kanter is a stud recruit and may be the most important player in a class that includes blue chip players Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb.

At Memphis and Kentucky Calipari has learned how to reload his program after massive talent losses, but Kanter’s presence was crucial to doing it again this year at Kentucky.  And Kanter has it all wrong – you’re supposed to get paid while you’re playing at Kentucky, not before.