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PORTSMOUTH — The last player to get into the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament field, R.J. Felton was also the last player out of the victorious Portsmouth Partnership locker room Wednesday night.
“Get some rest,” someone said as Felton slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked into a back hallway at Churchland High.
Indeed, it had been a day for Felton, a 6-foot-3 guard who scored nearly 1,800 points during his career at East Carolina, third most in program history. Felton was working out at ECU around noon Wednesday when he got the call to come to Portsmouth. He hastily packed, hopped in his car for the roughly two-hour drive, met his coaches and teammates and was in uniform for the 9 p.m. tipoff.
Making the most of his last-minute opportunity, Felton scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting in his team’s 101-94 win.
“I had prayed to the Lord for opportunities like this,” Felton said afterward. “It all just happened out of the blue. I’m so overwhelmed right now. I’m tired.”
Tournament officials keep a list of players handy if someone should drop out. It rarely happens on game day, however. Felton’s chance came when St. Mary’s guard Augustus Marciulionus was hurt during the physical testing/combine portion of the tournament Wednesday morning.
Felton was among the last players not to make the field anyway, said longtime NBA consultant Chris Ekstrand, who helps select players. Felton’s proximity made him the obvious 11th-hour fill-in.
“For us to be able to get a player of that quality is fantastic for us,” Ekstrand said.
Felton averaged 18.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for ECU last season, and became the first Pirate to be unanimously selected first-team All-American Athletic Conference. Like many players outside of power conferences, he had opportunities to transfer, he said.
“Plenty of opportunities,” he said. “Nowadays, everybody wants to transfer and go to other schools. I wanted to be the guy that made the difference at a school.
“I love East Carolina, Pirate nation.”
Felton is on track to graduate in May and had been working out and playing pickup games to keep sharp for possible NBA workouts, he said. Solidly built at 6 feet 3 and 214 pounds, he showed off his versatility as a scorer Wednesday, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers but also scoring on a post-up of 6-8, 235-pound Tyson Degenhart for a crucial bucket late in the game.
Ekstand, who is based in North Carolina and scouted Felton several times, said Felton invariably scores in double figures.
“I’ve never seen him have a game where he didn’t score. He always scores. He’s the kind of player where he’s so physical that even if he’s not making shots, he gets into the lane and he gets fouled and he gets 12 points on the free-throw line. That’s the kind of player he is,” Ekstrand said.
Felton excels at using his strength to create space, Ekstrand said.
“When he hits you, you get knocked back, not him,” he said. “He can always get a bucket.”
Felton, who grew up in South Carolina and is a third cousin of former NBA player Raymond Felton said he’s just trying to show NBA scouts “that I’m a winner.
I’m trying to show my all-around game and that I’m a fit for any NBA team.”
Like virtually all of the players at the PIT, Felton isn’t on anyone’s draft board. But there are many routes to the NBA these days, and playing in the PIT gets him in front of dozens of scouts from not just the NBA, but around the world.
Felton said he was too excited to rest before Wednesday’s game, which was why he was so drained at the end of the night.
It was happy exhaustion, however, and proof of something his coaches told him, he said.
“You’ve always got to stay ready.”
Continue reading...
“Get some rest,” someone said as Felton slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked into a back hallway at Churchland High.
Indeed, it had been a day for Felton, a 6-foot-3 guard who scored nearly 1,800 points during his career at East Carolina, third most in program history. Felton was working out at ECU around noon Wednesday when he got the call to come to Portsmouth. He hastily packed, hopped in his car for the roughly two-hour drive, met his coaches and teammates and was in uniform for the 9 p.m. tipoff.
Making the most of his last-minute opportunity, Felton scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting in his team’s 101-94 win.
“I had prayed to the Lord for opportunities like this,” Felton said afterward. “It all just happened out of the blue. I’m so overwhelmed right now. I’m tired.”
Tournament officials keep a list of players handy if someone should drop out. It rarely happens on game day, however. Felton’s chance came when St. Mary’s guard Augustus Marciulionus was hurt during the physical testing/combine portion of the tournament Wednesday morning.
Felton was among the last players not to make the field anyway, said longtime NBA consultant Chris Ekstrand, who helps select players. Felton’s proximity made him the obvious 11th-hour fill-in.
“For us to be able to get a player of that quality is fantastic for us,” Ekstrand said.
Felton averaged 18.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for ECU last season, and became the first Pirate to be unanimously selected first-team All-American Athletic Conference. Like many players outside of power conferences, he had opportunities to transfer, he said.
“Plenty of opportunities,” he said. “Nowadays, everybody wants to transfer and go to other schools. I wanted to be the guy that made the difference at a school.
“I love East Carolina, Pirate nation.”
Felton is on track to graduate in May and had been working out and playing pickup games to keep sharp for possible NBA workouts, he said. Solidly built at 6 feet 3 and 214 pounds, he showed off his versatility as a scorer Wednesday, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers but also scoring on a post-up of 6-8, 235-pound Tyson Degenhart for a crucial bucket late in the game.
Ekstand, who is based in North Carolina and scouted Felton several times, said Felton invariably scores in double figures.
“I’ve never seen him have a game where he didn’t score. He always scores. He’s the kind of player where he’s so physical that even if he’s not making shots, he gets into the lane and he gets fouled and he gets 12 points on the free-throw line. That’s the kind of player he is,” Ekstrand said.
Felton excels at using his strength to create space, Ekstrand said.
“When he hits you, you get knocked back, not him,” he said. “He can always get a bucket.”
Felton, who grew up in South Carolina and is a third cousin of former NBA player Raymond Felton said he’s just trying to show NBA scouts “that I’m a winner.
I’m trying to show my all-around game and that I’m a fit for any NBA team.”
Like virtually all of the players at the PIT, Felton isn’t on anyone’s draft board. But there are many routes to the NBA these days, and playing in the PIT gets him in front of dozens of scouts from not just the NBA, but around the world.
Felton said he was too excited to rest before Wednesday’s game, which was why he was so drained at the end of the night.
It was happy exhaustion, however, and proof of something his coaches told him, he said.
“You’ve always got to stay ready.”
Continue reading...
