Kentucky basketball still in the dark about Enes Kanter appeal

LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky basketball fans are anxious for official word on Enes Kanter’s eligibility status.

But they won’t get any clues from inside the Wildcats’ program, where the status of UK’s appeal to the NCAA remains a mystery.

“I don’t know anything about the case or the hearing,” UK assistant coach John Robic said Thursday while filling in for head coach John Calipari at a scheduled media opportunity. “It’s really been out of our hands, so I can’t answer that question. I’m just like everybody else around here.”

The Wildcats – who play at North Carolina on Saturday – expect to hear within the week the outcome of the university’s appeal on Kanter’s eligibility.


The NCAA ruled the 6-foot-11 freshman permanently ineligible for accepting $33,033 in excessive benefits in 2008-09 when he played for Fenerbahce, a pro club in his native Turkey.


UK appealed that ruling. Multiple media outlets reported that the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee heard the university’s appeal on Wednesday, but UK has neither confirmed nor denied that.


The university expects to hear a decision on Kanter within two days of the hearing, spokesman DeWayne Peevy said Wednesday.


Meanwhile, Kanter and the Cats (5-1) are waiting.
 
“I’m sure we’re excited to know, (but) I’m not sure when it’s going to happen,” point guard Brandon Knight said. “I haven’t really heard anything about it. (Kanter) seems in high spirits all the time – always making jokes, always laughing, always being Enes, not really letting anything get him down.”

Brett Dawson
courier-journal.com