Brandon Jennings began the trend when he bypassed college and bolted for Rome. Jeremy Tyler followed suit a year later and even college standouts such as Nick Calathes have opted to leave for the cash in Europe.
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For each, money was a factor.
For Enes Kanter, it's not.
Unless you're a hoops junkie, this is likely the first time you've heard of Kanter. But there are plenty of reasons to familiarize yourself with the 6-foot-9, 240-pound big man who originally hails from Switzerland.
Kanter, 17, is regarded as the top prospect in Turkey and was recently named the MVP of the Under-18 European Championships, where he averaged 18.6 points and 16.4 rebounds a game.
Kanter was so dominant that he had a pair of professional contracts on the table. Olympiacos, the largest and most popular Greek club, offered him $2 million per year for two seasons while a team in Turkey threw a five-year, $6 million deal his way.
But Kanter spurned both offers and instead, left the country less than a week ago to pursue his dreams in the United States.
