ICYMI: Illini lands commitment from Top JUCO Guard

By Miles Powers-Huang, Assistant Sports Editor

The Illinois men’s basketball team landed a commitment from Northwest Florida State College transfer point guard Andres Feliz, who announced via his Instagram on Sunday he will be joining the Fighting Illini program.

Feliz, who will have two years of eligibility for Illinois, averaged 20 points, 6.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in his second junior college season.

Arguably the top guard at the junior college level, Feliz initially signed with South Florida out of high school, when current Illini assistant Orlando Antigua was the head coach, but he never suited up for the program. Instead, he opted to play for the Niceville, Florida, junior college, where he averaged 11.6 points and 4.7 assists as a freshman, before breaking out the following season.

Before his collegiate career, the Dominican Republic native participated in the 2016 NIKE Hoop Summit and played for the world team alongside 2018 projected top-three pick Deandre Ayton. Feliz battled an American team that featured a slew of current NBA rookies, including the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, the Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox and eventual No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Underwood’s up-tempo, guard-heavy style of basketball means Feliz could be expected to make an immediate impact.

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Feliz will be the first non-freshman member of the 2018 class, joining five-star Ayo Dosunmu, four-star Tevian Jones and three-star athletes Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Samba Kane and Alan Griffin.

@MileP_H

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