Whoa there, Kanter was a minor (16-17 yrs old) whose only way to play in TURKEY for God's sake was for and with a pro team (no high school team bb there) and he got educational expenses while on the road, and his well-off parents didn't even spend the money but put it in an account to be paid back to ensure he could play for a US college. Emmert screwed UK.
If you're a real UK fan you should know better.
Well, playing for a pro team was pretty stupid, and if he always intended to play college, then he should have come to play highschool. At least coordinate with the NCAA as to a way he could possibly play as a pro and the NCAA would already know and signed off on it.
That said, this isn't a situation where money is being passed under the table, or influence being bought. He took the opportunity available to him and if he never even touched the money I think you look at the spirit of the rule in relation to the circumstance. As I said before, he could have gone to a US high school, but do we really have to force that on a kid. Moving overseas is a dramatic life change. An 18 year old kid is also typically a lot more prepared than a 14 year old kid.
I get it opens the door for abuse to get around the established rule, but nothing is stopping the NCAA from being able to sit down on a case by case basis for rare circumstances, like the kid's home country doesn't offer amateur basketball for what would typically be your high school years.
The NCAA has plenty of deep pockets and could make the necessary resources available for these rare or odd specific circumstances. Especially, considering that they make a gigantic amount off of the NCAA tournament. Unlike college football, where the universities and conferences keep an overwhelming majority of the money, by comparison, the schools in March Madness take home peanuts while the NCAA gets fat from the jackpot to line the coffers with huge tax-free profits.
