Enes Kanter a great practice player for Cats

Josh Harrellson reported that Enes Kanter, currently ineligible to play, is making his presence felt on the practice court. Harrellson reports that Kanter is making he and fellow big man Eloy Vargas better.

All John Calipari would say about freshman center Enes Kanter is that he “is good” now that he can at least practice with the team while he is awaiting to appeal the NCAA’s decision declaring him permanently ineligible.

However, Kanter’s roommate, UK senior center Josh Harrellson, joked that Kanter was the “best practice player in America” while he’s working out with the Wildcats.

Harrellson indicated that Kanter is having an impact on both his play, and that of fellow big man Eloy Vargas.

“Enes is making me and Eloy way better,” Harrellson said Wednesday. “He is a great practice player. He obviously hopes his appeal will go through. He’s all smiles at practice and I guess he is at least happy he has got a decision. We obviously want him back playing with us and hope that is going to happen.”

Calipari is more worried about getting his team ready to play Friday night in Portland before it heads on to Maui for three games.

“It’s a hard trip and dangerous game (Friday),” Calipari said. “(Freshman) Terrence (Jones) thinks he is going home for a vacation. He’s lined up all he’s going to do minute by minute and I am not sure he even has the game on his schedule.

“Then we are on our way to Hawaii to play three teams better than us. It will be a good learning experience and will help us learn how we have to play offensively and defensively when we come back. Everybody we are going to play, we are going to have the youngest team.

“We are not going to play as many people and do not have a lot of room for error like we did last year. The second thing, we do not have as many big bodies. We have to figure out to play if we are getting exploited in the post.”