(WHAS11) -- In the case of future superstar big man, and current University of Kentucky center-to-be, Enes Kanter, the other shoe may have just dropped. The issue is Kanter's status as an amateur. The New York Times is reporting that the team that Kanter played for before coming stateside paid him $100,000, and that's a problem for the NCAA.
It's ok for a foreign team to pay for room and board, but 100k is a bit more than room and board, especially when it allegedly includes spending cash for his family, and a monthly salary of a little more than $6,000 a month in his final year with his former Turkish squad.
The general manager from the aforementioned former team told the Times that he has turned bank statements and housing records in to the NCAA to back up their claim. These are records that the team did not want to share with the reporter who wrote the story.
Kanter's old team has a huge axe to grind with their former big man. They claim to have invested a lot of money into Kanter and are none too pleased with the way Kanter just up and left, especially without them being able to get a hefty transfer fee when Kanter inevitably turns pro, as with Ricky Rubio.
UK has released a statement saying they are “working diligently with the NCAA on this matter and we fully support Enes Kanter and his family through this ongoing NCAA review. We will have no further comment.”
A decision is expected from the NCAA in 10 to 15 days.
