Everything You Need To Know About Enes Kanter
Posted by Alex on November 24, 2009
Meet the newest Husky basketball recruit, Enes Kanter.
A 6’10″ center from Turkey, Kanter is 17 years old and a member of the high school class of 2010. Rated as a five-star recruit and one of the top players in his class, Kanter will make his debut on Montlake next fall for the start of the 2010-2011 season.
Unlike many European big men, Kanter is not a three-point shooter (rejoice!). In fact, he’s a big man who plays like a big man, and at 245 pounds should provide a formidable presence on the interior block.
Though many project Kanter as a one-and-done player, the native of Istanbul turned down multi-million dollar contracts from multiple European ballclubs — most notably Greek powerhouse Olympiakos (where former Stanford Cardinal and Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Josh Childress now plays) — to pursue an education in the United States. He currently attends Stoneridge Prep School in Tarzana, Calif.
Despite forgoing a hefty paycheck in Europe, Kanter does have professional playing experience. During the 2008-2009 season, the 16-year-old had a stint playing for a team in the Turkish Basketball League. He did not accept any pay or sign a contract, however, which allows him full amateur eligibility in the U.S.
Some more info on Kanter:
- Kanter’s Wikipedia page.
- An article from Rivals.com on Kanter.
- An article from the ESPN TrueHoop blog on Kanter.
- An article from Scout.com on Kanter.
- Enes Kanter’s Scout.com player profile.
- Enes Kanter’s DraftExpress NBA prospect page.
- Enes Kanter’s NBADraft.net prospect page.
dawgfan said
he IS a 3 point shooter. And a damn good one at that. Why would we be rejoicing if he was a bad shooter?
Alex said
To clarify, he is not purely a three-point shooter, like a lot of Euro centers and similar to Joe Wolfinger. Kanter can shoot the three, but admits that it is one aspect of his game that needs refinement, which I read in one of those articles I referenced.
dawgfan said
Didn’t mean to sound too critical in my first comment and thanks for clarifying. You do a good job on the site and just wanted to make sure other Husky fans know we’re getting a pretty complete player who also seems to want a degree (seeing as he passed up millions in Europe). Great get for Romar, now he needs to convince IT to stay and wrap up Terrence Jones and we’ll have a title contender next year!