Andrés Feliz

Andrés Feliz
Feliz in January 2020
No. 24 – Real Madrid
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1997-07-15) July 15, 1997 (age 27)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Listed height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Listed weight92 kg (203 lb)
Career information
High schoolWest Oaks Academy
(Orlando, Florida)
College
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2021CB Prat
2021–2024Joventut
2024–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  Dominican Republic
Centrobasket U17 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Puerto Rico Team
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Colorado Springs Team

Andrés Rafael Feliz Sarita (born July 7, 1997) is a Dominican basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Northwest Florida State Raiders and the Illinois Fighting Illini. He has represented the Dominican Republic in FIBA-sanctioned international youth and senior level competitions and was the top scorer at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

Early life

Feliz grew up in Guachupita, one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. His neighborhood received limited access to water and electricity. Because his family could not afford basketball shoes, he played in his school shoes or borrowed them from a friend.[1]

High school career

While at West Oaks Academy in Orlando, Florida Feliz helped lead his varsity basketball team to consecutive Sunshine Independent Athletic Association state titles and was a two-time tournament MVP.[2] During his junior season, he was teammates with Corey Sanders. As a high school senior, Feliz was named to the World Team in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit that took place at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.[3]

During the summer of 2015, Feliz verbally committed to play for then head coach Orlando Antigua and the South Florida Bulls.[4] He received interest from Louisville, Miami, and Missouri during his recruitment.[5]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Andrés Feliz
PG
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic West Oaks Academy (FL) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oct 13, 2015 
Star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

College career

As a freshman at the University of South Florida, Feliz left school a few days into the semester and immediately enrolled at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.[6][7] As a freshman at Northwest Florida, Feliz averaged 11.6 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, and 3.2 rebounds per game while averaging 57.3 percent from the field.[8] As a sophomore, Feliz led Northwest Florida to a Florida State Title an elite eight appearance in the NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship while averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game and becoming Northwest Florida State's all-time assists leader.[9][10] Feliz was named a NJCAA DI First Team All-American and to the 2018 NJCAA DI All-Tournament Team.[11] As the top rated junior college point guard in the United States, Feliz committed to continue his college career playing for head coach Brad Underwood, his former coach Orlando Antigua, and the Illinois Fighting Illini.[12]

As a junior, Feliz was a spark plug coming off the bench, averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 assist, and 2.9 rebounds per game and shot 45-percent from the field and 27-percent from three-point range. He averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as a senior.[13]

Professional career

The Basketball Tournament (2021)

Feliz joined House of 'Paign, a team composed primarily of Illinois alumni in The Basketball Tournament 2020. He scored 20 points and had seven rebounds in a 76–53 win over War Tampa in the first round.[14]

CB Prat Juventud (2021)

On February 13, 2021, Feliz signed with CB Prat of the Primera FEB. He played in 15 games and finished the season with 18.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.[15]

Club Joventut Badalona (2021–2024)

On July 13, 2021, Feliz signed a two-year contract with Joventut Badalona of Liga ACB.[16]

In June 2022, Feliz extended his contract with the team until June 2025.[17]

In February 2024, Feliz reached an agreement with the team to extend his contract until June 2026.[18]

In March 2024, Feliz was named the best player in Round 16 of the Eurocup basketball for his performance in the match in which his team won 79–88 against Ratiopharm Ulm. This was the first MVP award for Feliz who scored a career-high of 28 points.[19]

In June 2024, Feliz received the award for the best international player in the Spanish league during the 5th Spanish Basketball gala.[20]

On July 3, 2024, the team exercised a release clause on Feliz.[21]

Real Madrid (2024–present)

In July 2024, Feliz signed with Real Madrid Baloncesto of Liga ACB. He had originally signed with a contract extension with his previous club until 2026, but it included a termination clause of 500,000 euros. He joined the team as a European citizen as he has a Cotonou passport.[22] He signed a contract until 2027.[23]

In October 2024, Feliz was sidelined with a foot injury. Following tests, he was diagnosed with a rupture of the plantar fascia in his right foot.[24]

National team career

Feliz made his international debut for the Dominican Republic national basketball team during the 2013 Centrobasket U17 Championship for Men. In 2014, he won a bronze medal playing for the Dominican Republic national team in the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. In 2015, Feliz was the leading scorer in the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, averaging 18.9 points and 3.7 assists in seven games.[4] He also played for the Dominican Republic national team during the 2015 Pan American Games.[25]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

NCAA Division I

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Illinois 33 5 22.3 .453 .270 .755 2.9 2.2 1.0 .0 8.3
2019–20 Illinois 31 15 26.8 .460 .274 .769 5.0 2.9 .7 .0 11.0
Career 64 20 24.5 .457 .273 .763 3.9 2.6 .9 .0 9.6

JUCO

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Northwest Florida State 28 28 25.0 .573 .184 .702 3.2 4.7 1.5 .0 11.6
2017–18 Northwest Florida State 34 33 31.0 .611 .418 .772 5.7 6.1 2.1 .1 20.0
Career 62 61 28.3 .597 .349 .750 4.6 5.5 1.8 .1 16.2

References

  1. ^ Werner, Jeremy (November 5, 2019). "'A rose growing out of concrete': The Andrés Feliz story". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Collings, Buddy (February 29, 2016). "Andres Feliz of West Oaks gets Nike Hoop Summit invite". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "2016 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT: WORLD SELECT TEAM ANNOUNCED". Nike, Inc. March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Dauster, Rob (July 13, 2015). "South Florida lands commitment from leading scorer in U19 World Championships". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  5. ^ Smith, Ryan T. (July 13, 2015). "2016 Guard Andres Feliz Commits to USF Basketball". SB Nation. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Knight, Joey (August 27, 2016). "Men's hoops: USF freshman Andres Feliz not with team". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Top JUCO Guard Andres Feliz commits to Illinois". SB Nation. April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Illinois Basketball: Illini add to depth with Andres Feliz commitment". FanSided. April 8, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 Men's State Basketball Champions: Northwest Florida". Florida College System Activities Association. March 12, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Richey, Scott (April 8, 2018). "Feliz commits to Illinois". News Gazette. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  11. ^ Collings, Buddy (April 11, 2018). "West Oaks grads are JUCO All-Americans". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Ryan, Shannon (April 8, 2018). "Illini receive commitment from top-rated junior college point guard Andres Feliz". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  13. ^ wilson, Jalen (March 24, 2020). "Illinois basketball: 2019-20 season wrap-up for Andres Feliz". Writing Illini. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Stevens, Matthew (July 4, 2020). "Be Like Mike: Daum Leads House Of Paign To 76–53 Win In TBT First Round". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  15. ^ "Andres Feliz joins Prat". www.latinbasket.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  16. ^ Diario, Listin (13 July 2021). "Joventut de Badalona acuerda por dos campañas con el dominicano Andrés Feliz". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  17. ^ "El base dominicano Andrés Feliz renueva con Joventut hasta 2025". MARCA (in Spanish). 16 June 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Andrés Feliz recibe extensión de contrato". El Día. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Andrés Feliz, MVP de los octavos de la Eurocup". Diario AS (in Spanish). 7 March 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  20. ^ DIGITAL, N. (20 June 2024). "Andrés Feliz recibirá premio al mejor jugador internacional de la liga española de baloncesto". N Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Comunicado oficial: Andrés Feliz". www.penya.com. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  22. ^ "El Real Madrid ficha a Andrés Feliz". MARCA (in Spanish). 3 July 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  23. ^ Barragán, Nacho (3 July 2024). "Andrés Feliz, nuevo jugador del Real Madrid hasta 2027". madridistaReal. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Andres Feliz is sidelined indefinitely by Real Madrid after early exit". Eurohoops. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  25. ^ Tupper, Mark (April 7, 2018). "Feliz would be a good Illini fit". Herald and Review. Retrieved April 14, 2018.