Next Page1| 2Previous PageThe news casting doubt about the eligibility of University of Kentucky freshman center Enes Kanter is about as stunning as reports that Kanter can dunk a basketball. The suspicions that Enes Kanter was paid like a professional in Turkey predate his recruitment by UK. This is not the world picking on John Calipari or Kentucky basketball. It's an Enes Kanter issue. Either way, even Barney Fife saw these flashing lights approaching. Some coaches wanted no part of Enes Kanter and the inevitable fallout for whoever signed him. They determined that his sole American option was the NBA. Others hunkered down in fast-break pursuit. Calipari is a fast-break pursuit guy. Assemble the best available players first; sort through the details later. That's the Cal Way, the road he has aggressively and aggrievedly traveled into one of the best jobs in college basketball. Calipari doesn't apologize for his approach, which likely explains why his critics don't apologize for questioning it. Cal celebrates doing things his way — and keeps hitting the repeat button. If UK administrators are uncomfortable, I haven't heard a peep. Kanter's issue is his amateur status and whether he was paid a salary, which The New York Times reported amounted to $100,000 to $150,000 in cash and benefits over three years. For Eric Bledsoe, it was a high school academic transcript that inspired some programs to recruit elsewhere. For John Wall, it was his relationship with his AAU coach, Brian Clifton, who for a time was certified as a player agent. There were others during Calipari's celebrated and checkered stays at Memphis (Derrick Rose) and Massachusetts (Marcus Camby). There will be more during his time at UK. Baggage is not on the checklist of disqualifiers when Calipari evaluates talent. That hasn't always been the case at Kentucky.