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"Hello, my name is Enes Kanter."

When the 6-foot-11 prospect arrived in the United States from Turkey last year, those were the only six words he knew how to say. Kanter couldn’t speak English and he didn’t know much about Western culture. Outside of movies and professional wrestling, which he loves, Kanter knew little about America.

These days, Kanter is the one shrouded in mystery.

After being ruled ineligible for his freshman season at the University of Kentucky, the big man opted to remain on campus rather than return overseas. By choosing to take one year off of basketball, NBA teams aren’t sure what to expect from the Turkish prodigy and many question marks surround his game.

"I’ve talked to a few teams and they’re just trying to get to know me because they haven’t seen me play yet," Kanter told reporters during the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago. "I’m just telling them everything."

Kanter has been on the NBA’s radar for quite some time, but few people have seen him play at full strength. At a young age, he dominated his peers and filled box scores. His NBA coming out party was last year’s Nike Hoops Summit, where Kanter totaled 34 points and 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes of action against notable players such as Jarred Sullinger, Harrison Barnes, Terrence Jones, Tobias Harris and Patric Young. But even that performance was far from Kanter’s best basketball.

"In the Hoops Summit, I didn’t show myself because before the game, I took like four painkillers because of my back," Kanter explained. "My back was hurting and before the game, I wasn’t sure if I was going to play. My coach said, ‘Tell me how you feel.’ I said, ‘I feel good because I just took like four painkillers!’ Then, I just played about 21 minutes or something like that. I didn’t play 100 percent. Even in the practices, I couldn’t play 100 percent because of my back."

His decision to remain in Lexington rather than play professional basketball overseas seemed like a head scratcher, until you hear Kanter explain his reasoning.

"I just didn’t want to go back," he said. "I was taking my classes and learning my second language here. Education was very important for me – I came here because of education. I didn’t have a major because I was a freshman, but I took all of my classes. Right now, I’m taking my last final."

"When the NCAA made me ineligible, I was so sad because I came to the United States for education," Kanter added. "When they told me that I couldn’t play because I was a professional, it just made me so sad because I didn’t want to be a professional. That’s why I came here!"

Rather than abandon those that had given him such a wonderful opportunity, Kanter took it upon himself to help the team improve and still make an impact within the program.

"I talked to Coach Cal and he said, ‘You are always part of our family,’" Kanter recalled. "I told him, ‘I can’t play for you, but I want to help you. I just want to stay here and be with my family, my teammates and you.’ That was my job. I just wanted to try to make the players better."

While his presence helped the Wildcats improve – specifically Josh Harrellson – Kanter wasn’t able to display his skill set against top international competition. All of the questions that teams had prior to his arrival in the United States still remained. Kanter understands this and that’s why he’s doing whatever he can to sell himself to teams now, including taking part in the workout portion of the Pre-Draft Camp.

"I’m just so happy that I’m here," Kanted said. "Finally, I can show myself to the NBA. This is my dream."

"I didn’t play college [basketball] so I have to show myself to people," he added. "I don’t have anything to hide."

That’s because he has been working hard to stay in shape and further his development. Kanter was able to practice with his Kentucky teammates throughout the year and he also received one on one coaching from John Calipari. Now, he’s working out at Tim Grover’s ATTACK Athletics as he prepares for the draft process.

"I don’t feel like I missed anything," Kanter said. "Right now, I feel like I’m in great shape. I feel good. I’ve worked with Tim Grover for over seven weeks and I’m ready."

Kanter has been working with Grover to improve his face-up game and shooting. He expects to play both power forward and center in the NBA, and lists his toughness, rebounding and post moves as his biggest strengths.

However, it’s difficult to predict which team will acquire his services. Kanter reportedly skipped interviews with the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks. The likely reason? He loves the idea of playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards.

Kanter has been friends with fellow Turkish phenom Semih Erden since childhood and would love to reunite with him in Cleveland. He is also good friends with John Wall thanks to their Kentucky connection, which is why he has expressed a desire to play for Washington. He believes Minnesota has an excellent team and predicted that they would make the playoffs next season if Ricky Rubio signed.

By skipping meetings, Kanter is likely trying to force his way to one of those three teams.

For now, Kanter is focused on proving that he belongs at this level. Executives were impressed with his interviews and he handled himself well when surrounded by the recorder-wielding masses. Kanter wants to dispel any misconceptions about his game and open up to the decision makers that will ultimately shape his future.

Luckily for Kanter, his vocabulary now consists of more than six words.

Up Close With Charles Jenkins: When a player averages 22.6 points, NBA teams take notice. When a player does so while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 42 percent from long range, teams fall in love. Charles Jenkins’ stock is rising and some analysts, such as Chad Ford and Jay Bilas, are adamant that he’s a first-round talent. Jenkins is often overlooked because he attended Hofstra, but there are a number of teams that want to evaluate him in individual workouts, including the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

Our own Luke Byrnes caught up with Jenkins during the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago and discussed his pre-draft workouts with Kemba Walker, what he’ll bring to an NBA team and how VCU’s success in the tournament helped his draft stock.

Jenkins is currently projected as the 28th overall pick in HOOPSWORLD’s mock draft.

Westbrook Handles Benching Well: When Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks made the bold decision to bench Russell Westbrook for the entire fourth quarter in Thursday’s Game 2 win over the Dallas Mavericks, fans and media alike wondered how the star point guard would react.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Rather than pout or make headlines following the game, Westbrook has handled the situation like a professional and showed his maturity. Following the game, he wouldn’t let the benching overshadow the team’s victory.

After Friday’s practice, Westbrook continued to squash the notion that this is an issue.

"It’s important for the team to play well. I think the problem is that you guys are worried about how I’m playing and what my numbers look like instead of worrying about what our team is doing. I think that’s the main thing," Westbrook told reporters.

Rather than blame Brooks, Westbrook took responsibility for the benching.

"I’m just frustrated with myself because I know I could’ve done a better job when I was in there," he said. "He’s the head coaches. He makes the decisions on the floor and he made the best one yesterday."

"It was a good decision on his part," Westbrook continued. "He’s been coaching for awhile and he knows what he’s doing. I’m just sticking behind my team."

Game 3 between the Thunder and Mavericks kicks off tonight at 9 p.m. EST.

NBA Chats: There is one chat on today’s schedule. Susan Bible, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and NBA for HOOPSWORLD, will be taking your questions at 11am EST. As always you can check out our entire upcoming chat schedule.