Updates on Enes Kanter, Devoe Joseph, Abdul Gaddy

I just wanted to post a few updates on key players that have had off-the-court issues:

Enes Kanter has been ruled permantly ineligible for Kentucky. This wasn't a surprise, but it's an interesting story. Kentucky had appealed the initial ruling after they saw what happened with the Cam Newton case, where Cam's father sold his son's recruitment for close to $200,000 and the NCAA ruled Newton eligible because he supposedly didn't know what his father did. Kentucky argued that Kanter didn't know that his father was making money off of him, and therefore Kanter should become ineligible under the Cam Newton precedent.

Honestly, Kentucky is both right and wrong here. First, they are indeed correct that the Cam Newton precedent should make Kanter legal. If Kanter claims that he didn't know his father was making money, how can the NCAA prove otherwise? Certainly they haven't presented any proof. If Newton is eligible then Kanter should be eligible.

But that said, everybody knows that the NCAA's ruling on Newton was a joke. We all know that the NCAA is going to wait 2-3 years and then claim that new evidence came in and then they'll retroactively declare Newton ineligible and Auburn football's season will be wiped off the record books. The NCAA can't allow players to have their recruitment bought and sold. But the NCAA, in its infinite greed, wants to make as much money off Newton as they can before they step in. It's Reggie Bush all over again, only worse. The Newton case is the most embarrassing action taken by the NCAA in many years. The SEC should also be ashamed for looking the other way on this and trying to redirect attention by coming down hard on Bruce Pearl for (God forbid!) having a couple of recruits as guests at a family barbeque.

So the NCAA is not going to allow itself to be held by the Cam Newton precedent, a case that they have every intention of reversing as soon as Newton is gone from the rearview mirror.

From a basketball standpoint, the loss of Kanter could cause Kentucky's Tournament to end a little earlier, but the Wildcats are the favorite in the SEC without him. And I didn't see Kentucky winning a National Championship even with Kanter because I don't believe you can win a National Championship with so many freshmen in key roles and without a single key junior or senior.

-------------------------------------

In Minnesota, Devoe Joseph is transferring out. Joseph was one of the stars on last year's team, averaging 9.4 points and 3.0 assists per game. He was going to be one of the two primary playmakers on this year's team along with Al Nolen. This move wasn't a shock, but it's tough for Tubby Smith's team. Joseph was key when Al Nolen missed a few games back in late November and early December. Minnesota is very deep in the frontcourt, led by new star Trevor Mbakwe, but the backcourt is now very thin. Blake Hoffarber will be expected to do more ball handling, and I think freshman Austin Hollins will be in a position for more playing time.

I still think Minnesota is the sixth best team in the Big Ten without Joseph, and they should be back to the Tournament, but the real damage of this is long-term. First of all, Joseph was going to be essential next season after Nolen and Hoffarber graduate. But possibly more important is the way this adds to the perception of off-the-court messes under Tubby Smith at Minnesota. It seems like at least one player every year ends up suspended, expelled or gone via transfer. They're not the only team to have problems, but this stuff does have an effect on recruiting. Players without one-and-done potential like to go to places where they sense stability.

-----------------------------------------

Finally, more problems for Abdul Gaddy in Washington - he's out for the season with an ACL tear. It's easy to forget how highly recruited Gaddy was out of high school. He was generally considered the #2 point guard in the 2009 class behind John Wall, and there were recruiting experts that had Gaddy over Wall. Gaddy has struggled, but by all accounts he's had a positive attitude and has fought hard through on-court struggles. He's going to have to struggle through this now. Hopefully he'll be able to come back next season at full strength.

As for Washington, it's not a total disaster. Isaiah Thomas is their best guard and playmaker. Washington was far and away the best team in the Pac-10 with Gaddy, and even without Gaddy I still view them as the heavy favorite. But I said just earlier this week that I felt like Gaddy's play would determine the ceiling of this Huskies team. I thought this could have been a Final Four team if Gaddy took off. That's obviously not going to happen now. More likely this is a 2-4 NCAA seed and a Sweet 16 team now.