Feltons signs NLI
- Thread starter Seton75
- Start date
Beat out some highly ranked programs for this kid!
Good solid get for the program and hopefully it’s the first of many highly regarded players yet to sign. Landing an equally talented big would be a major plus as Sha and his staff continue to work hard rebuilding the program.
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Jumped from 120 to 96 in the on3 150 rankings . One of the biggest jumps..
I would love to hear he Is he the guy we want with the ball in his hands close game needing to hit free throws to ice the game. You get guys ranked 250 who fit that role better than top 100 players then people say why didn’t we recruit that player. That’s the kind of player I’m hoping for.
Seton Hall has landed a commitment from three-star combo guard Jahseem Felton. Felton, a 6-foot-5 combo guard Gastonia (N.C.) becomes the Pirates first commitment in the senior class for Shaheen Holloway.
“I chose Seton Hall because the coaching staff and everybody welcomed me and it felt like I was on the team already,” Felton said. “l felt like they were being honest with everything they said and showed it. Having that went a long way. Also the way they play and the culture they have is something I can’t wait to be in.”
In landing Felton, head coach Shaheen Holloway emphasized the chance for freshman to get playing time right away.
“They told me they only recruit dogs,” he said. “They want me to come in and just work. Nothing is given just earned. I was excited when I heard it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or whichever grade, if you work you’re going to play.”
Felton also did his own research on the team’s style of play and how his game would compliment the offense.
“I feel like I’ll fit in well,” he said. “They use a lot of ball screens, use their guards a lot to get down hill and make plays. That’s how I like to play, touching the paint and making the right decision. Also getting out on defense is something I really like to do. Most of their buckets are in transition so that comes from defense.”
Felton now joins a Seton Hall program that finished last season with a 17-16 record. Felton is excited about the direction of the program and believes he will be a key piece in the future.
“I feel like the program is going in a great direction,” he said. “Coach Holloway is one of the best coaches out right now. He’s always recruiting like minded people and it goes a long way. You could see a lot of potential in the season they had last year and it’ll just get better and better.”
“I chose Seton Hall because the coaching staff and everybody welcomed me and it felt like I was on the team already,” Felton said. “l felt like they were being honest with everything they said and showed it. Having that went a long way. Also the way they play and the culture they have is something I can’t wait to be in.”
In landing Felton, head coach Shaheen Holloway emphasized the chance for freshman to get playing time right away.
“They told me they only recruit dogs,” he said. “They want me to come in and just work. Nothing is given just earned. I was excited when I heard it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or whichever grade, if you work you’re going to play.”
Felton also did his own research on the team’s style of play and how his game would compliment the offense.
“I feel like I’ll fit in well,” he said. “They use a lot of ball screens, use their guards a lot to get down hill and make plays. That’s how I like to play, touching the paint and making the right decision. Also getting out on defense is something I really like to do. Most of their buckets are in transition so that comes from defense.”
Felton now joins a Seton Hall program that finished last season with a 17-16 record. Felton is excited about the direction of the program and believes he will be a key piece in the future.
“I feel like the program is going in a great direction,” he said. “Coach Holloway is one of the best coaches out right now. He’s always recruiting like minded people and it goes a long way. You could see a lot of potential in the season they had last year and it’ll just get better and better.”
His cousin played in the NBA. Now UNC basketball, others are recruiting this Gaston Christian guard
Chapel Fowler The Fayetteville Observer
GASTONIA – Midway through Tuesday’s home game, with Gaston Christian struggling to find an identity against Hickory Grove Christian, Gabe Blair approached star sophomore Jahseem Felton with a question.
“Do you want to bring the ball up and run the 1?”
Minutes later, game script dictated another request from coach to player.
“Hey, I need you to post up against their 5 man.”
In a display of the versatility that’s made him one of North Carolina’s most coveted 2024 basketball recruits, Felton passed both tests with flying colors. He went from two points at halftime to a season-high 28 by game’s end, his bevy of low-post twists and sharp passes and and-ones fueling a 66-54 win.
That’s the luxury of having a 6-foot-5, 190-pound “big guard” and certified Power Five recruit on your roster, ready for immediate deployment at point guard or center or wherever else his team needs him.
“He’s just such a unique talent,” Blair said.
Felton sank 10 of his 13 two-point attempts and 11 of 17 overall on Tuesday, adding 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. In 14 games for Gaston Christian, he has averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field, 30% on 3-pointers and 72% on free throws.
As for his recruitment: it’s unsurprisingly heating up. Felton’s scholarship offers include Georgetown, Florida, Kansas, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Wake Forest. Felton visited the Gamecocks and Demon Deacons last fall, and Virginia coaches stopped by an Eagles practice last week.
Two prominent in-state programs have also entered the picture, as Felton told the USA TODAY Network that UNC and N.C. State have reached out to express interest. The general message from Hubert Davis and Kevin Keatts’ coaching staffs: “Just letting me know that they know where I’m at and they see me.”
As a 16-year-old, Felton can’t be directly contacted by Division I programs right now – that’s not allowed until the June 15 after a recruit’s sophomore year, per NCAA rules – so communication goes through Blair. But according to Felton, college coaches are mostly impressed by the same thing: his versatility.
“But I’ve just got to keep working,” Felton said. “They said there’s a lot of people they recruit at a young age who go downhill when they get to college. So they’re just telling me to keep working, stay right in school, trust my coaches and trust my parents … really, just stay good and they’ll keep looking for me.”
It’s quite the measured perspective for a high school sophomore, and Felton, a cousin of former UNC and NBA guard Raymond Felton and former UNC guard Jalek Felton, has been developing it for years.
National recruiting services dubbed him one of the top players in his class dating back to sixth grade, and one website labeled him the No. 1 eighth grader in the nation two years ago. Back then, in 2020, he was a 6-4 14-year-old with braces playing up (and dunking) for Westminster Catawba Christian’s varsity team.
Felton averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game that year for the prep school in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before attending Charlotte’s Northside Christian Academy for his freshman season. A mix of friends at the school, coaching and academics prompted him to transfer to Gaston Christian last July.
As did the Eagles’ standing in a crowded North Carolina private school hoops scene. Gaston Christian isn’t as synonymous with NCISAA basketball as, say, Greensboro Day School; even within its own metro, the Cannon Schools, Charlotte Christians, Charlotte Latins and Providence Days of the world loom large.
Though the Eagles turned some heads with a run to last spring’s 3A state championship (they lost to Asheville Christian), Felton said their overarchingly subtle culture fits into his nothing-is-given mindset.
“I'm an underdog,” he said.
Playing under first-year coach Blair, a Gastonia native and former ECU and Wichita State forward, Felton is already thinking hard about his progression in the sport. He takes his conditioning seriously, swears by mobility bands and regularly picks the brain of Jaden Springer, the Charlotte high schooler turned star Tennessee freshman guard turned Philadelphia 76ers first-round pick, on life as a rookie in the NBA.
“I talk to him every day,” Felton said.
Blair’s advice to the sophomore is simple: keep honing your fundamentals and “don’t box yourself in.” Basketball is an increasingly positionless and evolving game, so Felton’s greatest skill to date is his variety of them. And when they’re unleashed, as Tuesday’s second half showed, they’re tough to stop.
Chapel Fowler The Fayetteville Observer
GASTONIA – Midway through Tuesday’s home game, with Gaston Christian struggling to find an identity against Hickory Grove Christian, Gabe Blair approached star sophomore Jahseem Felton with a question.
“Do you want to bring the ball up and run the 1?”
Minutes later, game script dictated another request from coach to player.
“Hey, I need you to post up against their 5 man.”
In a display of the versatility that’s made him one of North Carolina’s most coveted 2024 basketball recruits, Felton passed both tests with flying colors. He went from two points at halftime to a season-high 28 by game’s end, his bevy of low-post twists and sharp passes and and-ones fueling a 66-54 win.
That’s the luxury of having a 6-foot-5, 190-pound “big guard” and certified Power Five recruit on your roster, ready for immediate deployment at point guard or center or wherever else his team needs him.
“He’s just such a unique talent,” Blair said.
Felton sank 10 of his 13 two-point attempts and 11 of 17 overall on Tuesday, adding 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. In 14 games for Gaston Christian, he has averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field, 30% on 3-pointers and 72% on free throws.
As for his recruitment: it’s unsurprisingly heating up. Felton’s scholarship offers include Georgetown, Florida, Kansas, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Wake Forest. Felton visited the Gamecocks and Demon Deacons last fall, and Virginia coaches stopped by an Eagles practice last week.
Two prominent in-state programs have also entered the picture, as Felton told the USA TODAY Network that UNC and N.C. State have reached out to express interest. The general message from Hubert Davis and Kevin Keatts’ coaching staffs: “Just letting me know that they know where I’m at and they see me.”
As a 16-year-old, Felton can’t be directly contacted by Division I programs right now – that’s not allowed until the June 15 after a recruit’s sophomore year, per NCAA rules – so communication goes through Blair. But according to Felton, college coaches are mostly impressed by the same thing: his versatility.
“But I’ve just got to keep working,” Felton said. “They said there’s a lot of people they recruit at a young age who go downhill when they get to college. So they’re just telling me to keep working, stay right in school, trust my coaches and trust my parents … really, just stay good and they’ll keep looking for me.”
It’s quite the measured perspective for a high school sophomore, and Felton, a cousin of former UNC and NBA guard Raymond Felton and former UNC guard Jalek Felton, has been developing it for years.
National recruiting services dubbed him one of the top players in his class dating back to sixth grade, and one website labeled him the No. 1 eighth grader in the nation two years ago. Back then, in 2020, he was a 6-4 14-year-old with braces playing up (and dunking) for Westminster Catawba Christian’s varsity team.
Felton averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game that year for the prep school in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before attending Charlotte’s Northside Christian Academy for his freshman season. A mix of friends at the school, coaching and academics prompted him to transfer to Gaston Christian last July.
As did the Eagles’ standing in a crowded North Carolina private school hoops scene. Gaston Christian isn’t as synonymous with NCISAA basketball as, say, Greensboro Day School; even within its own metro, the Cannon Schools, Charlotte Christians, Charlotte Latins and Providence Days of the world loom large.
Though the Eagles turned some heads with a run to last spring’s 3A state championship (they lost to Asheville Christian), Felton said their overarchingly subtle culture fits into his nothing-is-given mindset.
“I'm an underdog,” he said.
Playing under first-year coach Blair, a Gastonia native and former ECU and Wichita State forward, Felton is already thinking hard about his progression in the sport. He takes his conditioning seriously, swears by mobility bands and regularly picks the brain of Jaden Springer, the Charlotte high schooler turned star Tennessee freshman guard turned Philadelphia 76ers first-round pick, on life as a rookie in the NBA.
“I talk to him every day,” Felton said.
Blair’s advice to the sophomore is simple: keep honing your fundamentals and “don’t box yourself in.” Basketball is an increasingly positionless and evolving game, so Felton’s greatest skill to date is his variety of them. And when they’re unleashed, as Tuesday’s second half showed, they’re tough to stop.
More on Felton's hoops history:
Nation’s top-ranked high school freshman basketball player transfers to N.C. school
Jahseem Felton, ranked by some publications as the nation’s No. 1 high school freshman prospect, has transferred to a North Carolina private school. Felton, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard, enrolled at Northside Christian in north Charlotte on Thursday, Knights coach Erasto Hatchett told The Observer. Felton is ranked No. 1 in his class by at least two recruiting services, Coast to Coast Preps and In The Gym. The larger services, like ESPN and 247 Sports, have not ranked freshmen yet. Felton played varsity as an eighth-grader at Westminster Catawba Christian School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he averaged 13 points per game. Felton was averaging 17 points for Westminster this season. He played his last game at the school in December. Felton has offers from Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, South Alabama and Wake Forest. On Thursday, Felton received an offer from Georgetown. “Jahseem’s mom and dad have decided to withdraw Jahseem from Westminster Catawba Christian School,” Westminster Catawba Christian School coach Ed Addie told The Observer. “As a family, they need to do what they feel is in the best interest of their child, and I support their decision. Jahseem is a talented young man, and I enjoyed coaching him during the time he was here.”Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/high-school/article248350990.html#storylink=cpy
Like his size but at least from the videos posted he looks VERY right handed...Rarely uses his left. They will force him to his left at next level.
Just being honest with what was on these highlight videos. I know you can't base everything on these. Maybe there are videos with more of a sampling. People who have scouted obviously think highly of him. He is top 100
