Author: katadmin

Enes Kanter: ‘I am the best player in this draft’

Despite not playing at Kentucky last season after an NCAA rules violation, Turkish center Enes Kanter apparently isn’t lacking in confidence that he can make it big in the NBA (Hat tip to Pro Basketball Talk.com)  

Kanter was set to play for the Wildcats last season before the NCAA declared him permanently ineligible as a collegiate athlete because he received approximately $33,000 from the Turkish professional team Fenerbahce Ulker in excess benefits.

“I believe if I could have played [at Kentucky], I would go with the No. 1 pick,” Kanter said in . “I believe I am the best player in this draft…”

That lack of playing experience last season has made Kanter the mystery player of this draft. He’s only 19 and is considered physically ready at 6-feet-11 and 260 pounds. Most mock drafts have him as one of the top five picks of the draft.  

Kanter said that not playing last season will not hurt his value to an NBA team.

“I’m not worried about anything,” he said. “Even if I could have played, I would have just played like, 22-24 games, because we’d have won many games by 30. I don’t think I missed anything.”

After being ruled ineligible, Kanter remained around Coach John Calipari’s program as a student assistant. The Wildcats dropped a 56-55 loss to eventual national champion Connecticut in the national semifinals.

That disappointing defeat has convinced Kanter that his presence would have changed how his team finished.

“We would have won the national title,” he said during one point of Wednesday’s interview.

A reporter followed up. “Easily?”

“Yes,” was Kanter’s immediate response.

He’s not lacking in motivation or ego, which only adds to his appeal for many teams with top draft picks in tomorrow’s lottery as the most NBA-ready center prospect in the draft.

Parker says he saw Hill as his ‘little brother’

By Jeff McDonald and Tim Griffin
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Speaking to a French website Monday, point guard Tony Parker said he would miss backup George Hill, who was traded to Indiana on draft night for a package that included Kawhi Leonard.

“I have confidence in (the front office’s) ability to make good choices,” Parker told 20minutes.fr. “It was still very difficult to separate from George Hill, because everyone loved him. Personally, I considered him my little brother. But the NBA is a business.”

In the same interview, Parker reiterated his desire to join the French national team for the ?EuroBasket tournament in Lithuania in August, but says he will not play if a lockout prevents him from obtaining insurances against injury.

“If there’s no insurance, I won’t play, because the Spurs are No. 1 on my list,” Parker said. “But if I’m insured, I’ll definitely play.”

Earlier this month, Parker said in San Antonio that he was looking forward to playing for the French national team for the first time in his professional career.

“Playing with the national team is always something I wanted to do,” Parker said. “I’ve never been to an Olympics. In talking to Manu (Ginobili), I know it’s a great experience.”

Mavs guard DeShawn Stevenson arrested for public intoxication Tuesday night

The Dallas Morning News reports that Irving police officers responded around 10:30 p.m. to at 6201 Love Drive.

Police said they found Stevenson alone and unable to determine where he was. He does not live at the apartment complex.

After field sobriety tests, officers took Stevenson into .

“Due to being intoxicated, he was a danger to himself and others, and therefore he was placed under arrest,” Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz told the News.

Stevenson was released from the Irving Jail on Wednesday morning , ESPN.com Dallas reported.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle turned around the NBA Finals before Game 4 when he removed Stevenson from the starting lineup and replaced him with guard J.J. Barea. But Stevenson did not pout and earned much notice for after the series ended.

Earlier, Stevenson took a shot at the Heat only moments after the Mavericks claimed their first NBA title.

“It makes me feel good, man, to beat him, to beat that Miami team,” Stevenson told reporters . “The way they act, the way they treated Dirk [Nowitzki], all the things that they said were very classless. To win on their court the way we did it, it was wonderful.”

And it was at Stevenson’s party before the season in Orlando where teammate Jason Terry on his right bicep.

For someone on the fringes of the Mavericks’ victory, Stevenson appears to have been involved in a lot of the memorable moments of their championship season.