Enes Kanter leaves Findlay Prep, will play in West Virginia

In a bit of a strange story, European super-recruit Enes Kanter has decided to leave Findlay Prep in Las Vegas before ever playing a game. Instead, Kanter will play for Mountain State Academy in West Virginia.

In case you don’t know, Kanter is a 6-10 Swiss born big man who recently decided to play a year of high school basketball then head to college in the US rather than sign a lucrative pro contract in Europe. Kanter will almost assuredly be a top 20 recruit in 2010, possibly higher.

The coach at Findlay did not specify why Kanter left, only saying that the split was amicable. Mountain State coach Rodney Crawford did not know why Kanter made the decision, but he is certainly ecstatic to be able to coach a player who has been recruited by essentially every major college program despite only recently making it known he would play NCAA basketball.

My guess, and this is strictly a guess, is that this is a move based on geography. I believe that the initial leg work Enes and his family have done in looking for a school has led them to lean toward schools further east, so playing out in Las Vegas would make the school selection process more difficult than it needs to be.

I have no information that would lead me to believe that Kentucky is in good standing for Kanter, but we know that Calipari and his staff have inquired and we know that Kanter playing closer to Lexington cannot hurt.

Also, a quick note on another UK target for 2010. 6-8 Terrence Jones of Portland (OR) Jefferson High School has released his in-home visit schedule (via ZagsBlog).  He will host 8 schools from September 10-27 and is “wide open”, considering schools all over the US:

Sept. 10 – UCLA

Sept. 14 – Washington

Sept. 15 – North Carolina

Sept. 21 – Oklahoma

Sept. 22 – Kentucky

Sept. 23 – Maryland

Sept. 24 – Arizona

Sept. 27 – Kansas

Jones does not appear to be anywhere close to a decision, but I would expect him to schedule his 5 official visits based on how his in-homes go and let’s hope that the ‘Cats make the cut.