Enes Kanter

ATLANTA — Before the season started, college basketball analyst Joe Dean Jr. said he could envision a scenario where Kentucky could finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division if Enes Kanter was ruled ineligible. Kanter was ruled ineligible, but the Wildcats managed to finish second in the East and earn a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. However, with a week to go in the regular season, Kentucky could have dropped to fifth if it had lost a home game and then lost at Tennessee.

Josh Harrellson doesn’t know whether he will cry or smile during Kentucky’s Senior Night festivities tonight. Harrellson, the team’s lone senior, will be honored before the Cats take on Vanderbilt at 9 p.m. in a nationally-televised contest on ESPN. “(Tears) might not run down the cheeks, but my eyes will probably be watering,” Harrellson said Monday. “I will definitely be smiling. If there are tears, (they) will be tears of joy.” It has been a season to remember for Harrellson, who has started all 28 games this season.

Kentucky had four freshmen leave for the NBA after last season — and all were first -round draft picks. Could the Cats have two more players — forward Terrence Jones and guard Brandon Knight — do the same this June? “I think Jones is a very strong candidate to go one-and-done at this point. If he continues being productive, he’s going to be projected in the top 10, if not the top five, and that seems tough to pass up,” said Matt Kamalsky of Draftexpress.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky coach John Calipari indicated Monday he believes Enes Kanter being ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA will change the way “everybody” recruits foreign players now. Kanter, a native of Turkey, was ruled ineligible because his parents took about $33,000 in excessive payment when he played for a Turkish club team at age 16. “We were told it would not have mattered it if was $500, he would not have been...

Now we know that Enes Kanter won’t play basketball for Kentucky this year. That became clear when Chuck Wynne, the director of communication strategy for the NCAA, told WLEX-TV in an e-mail Thursday that there would be “no decision on the prospective student-athlete's initial eligibility until after the first of the year. Any reports saying otherwise are wrong.” Several sources had been speculating that the NCAA might give Kentucky a ruling this week on its appeal of Kanter’s status after he was originally ruled “permanently ineligible” for receiving excessive payments when he played for a Turkish club team before he came to the United States two years ago. His parents have contended all along that the money was spent on his education and the other funds were placed in an escrow account.

Kentucky has passed the biggest hurdle on the non-conference portion of the schedule. The team’s next three games, starting with tonight’s contest against Mississippi Valley State at Rupp Arena, aren’t reminiscent of the past three encounters, but will give Kentucky coach John Calipari and his staff a chance to implement some last-minute changes over the Christmas break and examine who’s in and who’s out when...

It was no secret even with Enes Kanter, depth could be a problem for Kentucky this year. Without Kanter, it’s a huge problem — and almost certain defeat when four players foul out like they did in Saturday’s 75-73 loss at North Carolina. The biggest bright spot for Kentucky in the loss was the play of freshman Doron Lamb, who continues to show that he could be this year’s Eric Bledsoe in the freshman class. He was considered a good player coming into Kentucky, but he’s turning into a great player.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The NCAA ruled Kentucky freshman center Enes Kanter permanently ineligible to play for the Wildcats, though the school will appeal the decision. The NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff decided the 6-foot-11 Kanter received benefits above his actual and necessary expenses while playing for a club basketball team in Turkey. The NCAA defines actual and necessary expenses as those directly necessary for practice and competition on a team. The NCAA ruled Kanter received over $33,000 above his necessary expenses for the 2008-09 season.

LEXINGTON — Kentucky freshman center Enes Kanter wasn’t available for interviews at UK’s Media Day on Thursday and coach John Calipari did his best to avoid talking about Kanter pending the outcome of his eligibility issues with the NCAA. Kanter and UK are still waiting to hear from the NCAA about allegations that he accepted a salary and other excessive benefits while playing for a club team in Turkey before he came to the United States last year. Calipari’s first question in his 45-minute media session was about how important Kanter would be to this year’s team.

Tamer Turkman says he doesn’t know any of the details surrounding the latest allegations that Enes Kanter was paid to play basketball in Turkey, but he does know he was surprised Wednesday when he read the news about the Kentucky freshman. “I woke up and was amazed with what I read,” said Turkman, founder and president of International Student Service who lives in Baltimore. “I must have read about 60 or 70 articles about it. I hope it works out, but it sure seems like a big mess today.