Enes Kanter to Washington

Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Nolan Shulman in High School

According to Dave Telep, scout.com’s director of recruiting, Enes Kanter has chosen to live his American dream at the University of Washington. After turning down millions of dollars to play proffesionally in either Turkey or Greece, Enes came to America to improve his game and play against the best. Under coach Romar and his staff he’ll certainly improve as a post player and playing in the Pac-10 should provide him with the type of competition he needs.

I’ve never seen this kid play in person, but according to people in the industry who’s opinion I respect, this young man is the real deal. So much so that he almost hung 50 last week in a prep school game. He’s a big boy who loves to bang and do the dirty work. According to Jonathon Givony of Draft Express, “Kanter is not about jumping out of the gym. The kid shows decent athleticism, but his leaping ability is not top notch. On the contrary, he relies on his superb positioning, willingness to pursue the ball on both ends of the court, and excellent timing. Kanter uses both arms, and isn’t scared to leave the ground even in horizontal moves (many players fear for their ankles in these situations), so his rebounding range is pretty good. He also enjoys terrific hands to grab the ball, and the poise to know when to make every effort.”

It hasn’t been an easy ride thus far for Enes. After originally planning on playing at Findlay Prep, he has had some questions about his eligibility. Deciding to split ways with coach Peck and the #1 team in the country, he enrolled at Mountain State Academy. Different school, same result. Problems becomming eligible forced Enes to Stoneridge Preparatory School in California. Now settled in, Enes has already taken the State by storm. He’s currently ranked as the 22nd best player in the class of 2010. He may still move up in the rankings, but until I see the hype with my own two eyes, that’s as high as I can put him.

Enes joins Desmond Simmons as the only two players in Washington’s 2010 class. It’s about quality not quanty, and UW looks to have added an excellent piece to the puzzle.

Tags: Enes Kanter