UNC Basketball: Jalek Felton 2017-18 season preview
Freshman combo guard Jalek Felton is looking to follow in his family’s lofty footsteps at UNC.
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Jalek Felton has been a Tar Heel commit for several years now. If the name sounds familiar its because he is the nephew of former Tar Heel great Raymond Felton.
The guard stayed committed to UNC for a few years, even with the dark cloud of the academic scandal hovering over the program.
He was the first, and for a little while, the only player in UNC’s 2018 class. Now as the Tar Heels look to repeat as champions, Felton will be looking to make his own mark this season.
He is one of five freshmen to enter this season, and the highest ranked UNC recruit in the 2018 class according to ESPN.
2016-17 Review
Felton spent last season at Gray Collegiate Academy. He had previously played at Mullins High School for three seasons before transferring to Gray for his senior year.
As a senior, Felton averaged 26.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game as he helped lead his team to the Class 2-A semifinals. For his efforts, Felton was named the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.
He was snubbed as a McDonald’s All-American but did make it to the Jordan Brand Classic which was played back in April at the Barclay’s Center.
2017-18 role and at preview
Going into the season it was expected that Felton would be one of the first guards off the bench for North Carolina. He provides Roy Williams with a second ball handler who can lead the break especially when Joel Berry II sits.
Last season Berry averaged over 30 minutes a game. Felton’s addition should allow Berry to rest more as he won’t be as needed to handle the ball as much.
But with the recent news of Berry missing four weeks due to a broken hand, Felton’s role may have just changed a little bit.
Felton will likely see a lot more minutes now that Berry is sidelined and his role instantly changes.
If Williams goes with Seventh Woods as the starter, then Felton will be the first guard off of the bench.
However, if Williams decides that Felton is ready to start right away he could be the team’s new point guard with Woods coming off the bench.
When Berry gets back it will be real interesting to see what Williams does. With Berry, Woods and Felton, it could allow Williams to run a two point guard system at times, similar to how he did at Kansas and as he did two years ago with Berry and Marcus Paige.
Felton will likely take on a role similar to what Seventh Woods had in his freshman season last year. The big difference will be that UNC can slide Felton in at the two if needed.
It will be very interesting to see how Felton is used in Williams’ offense early on. That will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Strengths
Felton is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard. He has a high energy approach and is a good passer.
He can play both guard positions giving the Tar Heels some versatility when he comes off the bench.
Felton can score from all over the court with the ability to hit threes and he can also create his own shot. Felton may also be the most gifted player on the team according to Roy Williams per Ross Martin:
"He is really gifted, maybe the most gifted player on our team,"
What exactly those gifts are may be another story as we will soon find out when the season gets started.
Bold prediction
Jalek Felton has all the tools to lead the Tar Heels in various categories.
Due to his extreme athleticism and the team’s questions in the frontcourt, I will say that Felton finishes the season not only as the Tar Heels best perimeter player but also finished second on the team in rebounds per game.