Enes Kanter, F/C, Fenerbahce (Turkey): By far, more teams were impressed with this young big than anyone else who attended the combine. They love the fact that he was willing to take part in drills (though he probably didn't have a choice, since no one has seen him play in more than a year, having been declared ineligible to play for Kentucky). They love how hard he played. One gym rat at Tim Grover's Attack Athletics who's seen Kanter work out all season said that the more there is contact, the more Kanter likes it. And that seemed to be the case in Chicago. Still don't see him going with the first pick overall, but anything after that would not surprise. (His camp must obviously think he's not getting past Cleveland, which has the fourth pick as well as the top selection -- or, at least that's the impression they're trying to create by having him skip an interview with Toronto, picking fifth.)
Kanter said that he wasn't planning to turn pro when he came to Kentucky, but once he was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA, there was nothing left for him to do.
"I don't have anything to hide," Kanter said last week. "I love to show people what can I do."
Kanter stood a striking 6-foot-11 1/4 in shoes and weighed 259 pounds with less than six percent body fat, more than big enough to handle himself in the paint against most bigs. He is quick off his feet, has good hands and makes good decisions. He can score in the paint. Will he defend? Like most rookies, he'll likely struggle early, but if his quick pickup of English is any indication, he's a quick study. When he came to the states, all he knew was "Hello" and "My Name is Enes Kanter." But he's now got a full vocabulary.
"I came here with my friend," Kanter said. "Me and him worked really hard and I just tried to speak English six months maybe, seven months. It wasn't hard, because I said that's my home right now. I have to learn. It wasn't that hard. I watch TV. I didn't listen to music because they were too fast. My teammates wanted to show me some music, but I didn't understand anything. Too fast."
Kanter said that even though Cleveland, picking fourth, has fellow Turk Semih Erden, a former teammate of his back home, his preference would be to play for Washington. But there's no way he'll last until the sixth pick, which the Wizards have. They'll have to move up to get him, and the most likely spot would be two, where Minnesota has the second pick. But the Wolves could hold onto the pick themselves as Kanter continues to impress. Even though he's been on the shelf for a long time, the potential is powerful, and he can't wait to get on the court.
"When I was watching the game, I was crying, because I couldn't help my team," he said. "I couldn't help Coach Cal, or Kentucky. It was really hard."
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