Polson impressed with future teammates Kanter, Vargas

Polson impressed with future teammates Kanter, Vargas

By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com
May 20, 2010

West Jessamine point guard Jarrod Polson has been going to Lexington about two days a week to play pickup basketball games since deciding to walk on at Kentucky next season.

He got the opportunity to play with two future teammates — Enes Kanter and Eloy Vargas — on Saturday.

“Kanter was real cool,” Polson said. “He was very friendly and stuff. He is a good guy and seemed fluent with the language and everything.”

How good did Kanter, who played in Turkey before coming to the United States last year, look on the court?

“As a player, he was dominant. He can shoot outside. I walked into the gym and he was doing a little shooting drill, and I didn’t see him miss once. They were 3-pointers and long shots, too. Nothing easy,” Polson said.

What about his size?

“He looks 6-10, 6-11. He’s big and looks pretty strong,” Polson said.

He admitted he was not sure who Vargas was when they were playing and didn’t find out until later that Vargas eventually committed to Kentucky some time Saturday. Vargas played two years ago at Florida before transferring to Miami-Dade College last year.

“Vargas is good, too. I didn’t really know who he was. I had not heard of him,” Polson said. “But him and Kanter were guarding each other and giving each other good games. They are both good players. I had no idea Vargas was coming, though. He will be a big help.”

Could the big guys run the floor?

“You don’t really run the floor in pickup games. They are a little different than real games. But I can see them running. They are hard workers and both are very good players. I think both will be very good next year,” Polson said.

Kanter is already being touted as the next sensation for Calipari. However, I wondered about his personality. That’s what I called Stoneridge Preparatory School in California and asked Maria Arnold, the owner and principal since the school was founded, about him.

“Number one, he is a fantastic student and fantastic athlete,” Arnold said. “He will be an asset to any organization whatever he does. I know he likes Kentucky and I think he will be a great player for them. He is just fantastic.

“He is very likable. Everybody likes Enes. In our school, everybody likes everybody, but they all really like Enes. We are very strict about class time, and we have children from all over the world here. But everybody likes Enes and knows Enes.”

As good a basketball player as he is, one thing about Kanter immediately impressed the principal.

“He is very dedicated to academics, and he does quite well. That is never a problem for Enes. He’s a good athlete, but he’s very serious about his academics, too,” Arnold said.

“Most kids need encouragement and with encouragement they do fantastic. I am sure he will keep getting that at Kentucky and will keep doing fantastic.”

Arnold says Kanter will be missed.

“We love him, and he was very happy here. I am sure he will have fantastic memories of here, because we are going to have fantastic memories of him,” she said.