All of you remember this show right? Someone comes on who no one knows and the panel gets to ask questions about what they do, then they get to try and figure out who they really are.
Well, we are going to play the UK version of this game and try to figure out this little situation we have cropping up over there in Turkey. But before we begin, let me introduce you to the players in our little game. First we have this strapping young man from Turkey by the name of Enes Kanter. You know him, Big Enes, The Man Who Would Replace DeMarcus Cousins, etc. Then we have Enes’ father, a well known and respected Medical Professor at Trakaya University. Then we have the GM of the Turkish Basketball Club, Nedim Karakas. Add to that Duquesne Assistant Coach Rodney Crawford. Also we have a man who some are calling the Turkish World Wide Wes, Max Ergul. Add to that group Pete Thamel, reporter for the New York Times, and well known Kentucky Scandal Breaker. Oh yeah, and Pete had help with this story too, Jack Styczynski, was also a contributor to this little deal, so we must not leave him out. Throw in the NCAA, Coach Cal, and the compliance department at UK, and you have a host of characters that Hollywood would love dearly.
So, where do we begin? First, Coach Cal and the compliance department, and even the NCAA are out of this picture. Let me tell you why. None of them have done anything other than what they are supposed to here. Cal and the compliance department reported to the NCAA that Enes had accepted funds from the Turkish Basketball Club Fenerbahce Ulker from the very beginning. The NCAA is investigating that report, and has asked for further documentation, as well they should, and that has now been provided to them, according to Mr.Karakas. This is standard procedure and nothing fishy is going on with regards to that aspect of this process.
Now we move on to the more interesting characters in this little ordeal. Enes himself, and his father by simply being his father, are now called into question by Pete Thamel and the New York Times. Their version of the information that they provided UK with has been deemed to be not completely truthful in allegations by the Turkish GM, Mr.Karakas. He says that Enes not only got room and board, uniforms and medical treatment, which should be no problem, but he also got a salary, and money was provided to his parents as well. And he claims to have submitted proof of this to the NCAA.
Then we get to the real meat and potatoes of this report, which is how Thamel himself has characterized the players in this game. Thamel and his erstwhile assistant, Mr. Styczynski, have painted Max Ergul, whom can only be described legally as a translator and advisor to Turkish players coming to the U.S., as a Turkish World Wide Wes. A man in the shadows pulling strings to get people to where they need to be. Ergul claims this to be false, and Thamel’s own source on this is claiming that he was misquoted by Thamel and his remarks were taken totally out of context. Rodney Crawford says that he was not even talking about Ergul or Kanter when he made the remarks that Thamel used in his article. Ergul has been called into question before though as far back as 2007 in the case of another Turkish player where Ergul was claimed to be an agent, a claim which Ergul vehemently denies. Ergul claimed to only be a translator for Ersan Ilyasova when he was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, lest we forget, there is the GM from the Turkish club Mr.Karakas. His claims are as follows. Enes was provided with room and board, clothing and medical, as well as a salary of $6500.00 a month(don’t know in what currency, but 6500.00 US =4279.00 Lira, and 6500.00 Lira=9873.00 US)and a considerable amount of time in developing Enes into a premier player in Turkey. Karakas also questions Kanter’s ability to be a college student in the US, as well as his motives.
Now to be fair in this, Thamel is simply reporting what he was told by the GM in Turkey, right? I would say that was a given, except that Rodney Crawford now casts a shadow of doubt on Thamel’s reporting since his disclosure of Thamel’s misrepresentation of what he told him. Could Thamel have done the same thing with the Turkish GM? Well, Thamel did allude that the GM and Owner of Fenerbahce Ulker stand to gain from Kanter’s ineligibility to get into the NCAA. The team will be compensated if Kanter goes straight to the NBA, or comes back to play for them in Turkey. Karakas says that he would not lie to prevent Kanter from leaving, so I guess we have to take his word on that one.
So what is one to make of all of this? Well, for UK this is a simple matter. Kanter is either eligible or he isn’t. If he is, all is well and we go on. If not, we make do with the other top recruits we have and we still go on. Life does not begin and end with Kanter. No rules have been broken here by anyone, in spite of what some may wish in this situation. The new NCAA guidelines are going to be tested, and that in and of itself is a good benchmark for future recruits who come from overseas. Thamel, well, what do we say about Pete Thamel? He has twice now taken shots at UK for various recruiting situations. Does he have an axe to grind with Calipari and UK? I do not know. Was he spurned for an interview by Coach Cal and now he wants revenge or something to that effect? I do not know that either, but it seems unlikely. Cal talks to everyone. Is Ergul an agent in disguise? Not sure on that one either. I have looked for two days for information on that individual and have come up as dry as desert. Only one thing is for sure here. Someone is either lying, or has been “misrepresented” by people in the press. Which one that is, we will know in about 10 days.
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