B. Patrick
As a basketball fan, I have always had a love for the lesser known, obscure and/or underappreciated. At school, when most kids were wearing Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O’Neal or Michael Jordan jerseys, I was wearing Bobby Hurley, Derek Harper and Dino Radja.
This is my open tribute to the lesser known players in today’s game. This is Spotted on the Pine.
CARRICK FELIX
Name: Carrick Felix
Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Jersey Number: 0
Rookie Year: 2013-14
Drafted: 2nd round, 33rd pick
College: Arizona State
Twitter: @C_Felix0
Regular season and pre-season schedules have now been announced for the 2013-14 schedule, so with that being said, I found it appropriate to do a quick article on the first rookie to hit Spotted on the Pine of the 2013-14 Rookie Class.
Carrick Felix.
Felix grew up in a town west of Phoenix called Goodyear, Arizona. His high school years would be spent at Millenium High School, where he would average 19.7 points and 13 rebounds and catch the attention of many national programs.
Unfortunately, Carrick was deemed academically ineligible following high school, sidelining Carrick’s initial shot for Division I athletics. Felix found himself going the Junior College route with the College of Southern Idaho.
Although the plan would be a two year max in JUCO before latching on with an NCAA threat, a wrist injury arose and Felix found himself in a redshirt situation for his true freshman year.
As soon as Felix got on the court, he would shine. Averaging a team-high 16.4 points while also leading the team in blocks and field-goal percentage, Carrick would show he was an all-around stud. He wasn’t even leading the team in minutes played!
With excellent play and three years of eligibility remaining, many major programs came calling for his services. Schools were including but not limited to Duke, USC, Washington, Marquette and West Virginia.
Felix initially committed to Duke. There are varying stories ranging from a change of heart to a missing math class but before Felix was set to make history as a Junior College player becoming a Duke Blue Devil, he turned his sights to home and the PAC-12.
Felix joined Arizona State and the Sun Devils.
The Devils had just lost their latest star and future NBA All-Star James Harden to the NBA Draft, as well as another key player in Jeff Pendegraph.
Felix struggled in his first season with ASU and the Sun Devils did as well. While getting action in 30 games, Carrick only started eight and never seemed to find a rhythm. The Sun Devils would make the NIT and get bounced in the first round.
The team would struggle in Carrick’s junior year but his performance would start showing the promise he had since high school. While the Sun Devils as a whole had a rough season, Felix shifted into being the 2nd leading scorer on the team (behind Trent Lockett) and start all but two games.
Completing a Bachelors in Communication in 2012, Felix still had one year of eligibility, so the once “troubled” student would start in a Masters of Liberal Studies program in the summer. Felix came back with more confidence and the Sun Devils boosted the staff of coach Herb Sendek bringing in assistants with NBA experience, such as the man who coached Ron Artest in Sacramento, Eric Musselman.
And in the 2012-13, the Carrick Felix experts expected shone through.
The Sun Devil wing had been averaging 7.5 and 2.8 rebounds per game in his ASU career until this point. His senior year would be a different story.
Second in the Pac-12 in double-doubles. He averaged 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds, numbers which were only topped within his conference by Dwight Powell of Stanford.
As a matter of fact, Felix would wind up in the Top 15 of the Pac-12 in six different categories.
Felix heated up when it mattered and finished his career 2nd team All-Pac 12 and All-Pac 12 defense.
A super athletic wing that can score at the rim with a quality jumper and play defense, among much other versatility, Felix would get some looks going into the draft but he was considered to have a lot of hard work on his way to the NBA.
Felix was characterized as a high reward prospect but in the uncertainty of how anything was going to go in the 2013 draft, some people doubted Carrick would even get drafted.
With the 33rd pick of the draft, the Cleveland Cavailers, a team stocked with top young prospects added another: Carrick Felix.
Many were surprised but Felix continued to prove any doubters wrong. He showed up in Las Vegas for the summer league and held his own. He played great defense, excelled at the 3-point line and unlike many second round picks, didn’t have to worry about his fate for long.
By August 2013, Carrick would do what every 2nd round pick hopes for and secured a multi-year guaranteed contract. Felix inked a spectacular four-year (three-years guaranteed) deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With a young Cavs team, Felix has the opening to likely get around a dozen minutes on any given night. If opportunity presents itself, Carrick may not only grow with this young team but have the team grow with him.
