Jalek Felton is ready to step out of his uncle’s shadow. Felton, the nephew of former North Carolina basketball superstar, Raymond Felton committed to the Tar Heels in December of 2014, following the path of his uncle. There is no doubt that Felton has high expectations to live up to, but it’s nothing that he isn’t ready for, saying, “I just want to keep my uncle’s legacy going.” he continued. “I want to make my own name at UNC because I know that people will expect me to do what my uncle did. I want to leave my own mark there.”

 

While Felton is prepared to make his mark at UNC, he has already accomplished that as a high schooler. After leading Mullins High School (Mullins, SC) to a 16-10 record last year, Felton placed his name among high school basketball’s best, leading to his current ESPN ranking as the #24 overall player in the Class of 2017, and the #1 player in the state of South Carolina. However, with all of this success comes intense scrutiny. “There’s just a lot of media nitpicking.” says the 6’3” shooting guard. “There are people on social media, but you can’t pay attention to that. You just have to go out and play.”

That is exactly what he has done. Through three stages in the Under Armour Association Circuit, Felton is 6th in scoring, averaging 19.0 points per game, to go along with 5.0 assists per game, which is good for 4th. His UAA team, Team Felton, enters the UAA finals with a record of 7-5, and Felton knows that he will have to improve. “We need to get to the finals, and compete in the UAA championship.” stated the shooting guard.

 

With the July Evaluation period starting up, Felton will have the chance to display his incredible shooting stroke, while also improving his defensive and rebounding ability. “Those are definitely two areas that I want to work on,” said Felton. “ I’ve already exceeded some of my expectations, but I feel like I can do a lot more.”

First introduced to the game at the age of two by his uncle, Felton has been able to learn from the former Naismith Prep Player of the year and better his game as a whole. Despite his uncle’s success, it is, in fact, his mother that motivates him most to pursue his basketball goals. “Being a single mother and doing everything for my sister and me, I want to give back to her.” explained the 18-year-old.

 

Now with summer basketball heating up, Felton is making moves towards the top of his class. “I’m gonna take that extra step in the next tournaments and the rest of the summer.”

With the recruiting process out of the way, something that most juniors are still consumed with, Felton is able to put his full attention towards basketball. “ Once a lot of schools start to call you and you have a big game, then it gets stressful.” Felton explained.

He may not have the recruiting process to distract him, but he is still constantly faced with the pressure of being a top prospect in his class. However, concerned with his game, Felton pays no attention to the rankings, saying, “I don’t really see it as pressure. I just see it as another game and another day.”

 

Jalek Felton, faced with continuing his uncle’s legacy has proved, not only throughout this UAA circuit but throughout his entire high school career, that he is at the top of his game. He is undoubtedly someone to keep an eye on in the 2017 class and it will be interesting to watch him at UNC. If one thing’s for sure, Jalek Felton is “Leaving his Mark”