While it’s ASU senior wing Carrick Felix’s last year as a Sun Devil, it doesn’t appear to be his last season playing basketball.
Felix has helped lead his team to a 16-4 start this season, and he’s also improved his NBA draft stock in the process. DraftExpress.com, one of my favorite sites, published a piece on Felix’s NBA potential Tuesday. Joseph Treutlein did a nice job breaking down Felix’s game on both sides of the ball, noting Felix “has begun to catch the eyes of NBA scouts with his intriguing profile.”
“It does every now and then,” Felix said when asked if he thinks about what’s next in his career. “It’ll creep a little bit because it’s the truth; my time here is almost done.
While Felix has played almost exclusively at forward this season, Treutlein has him as a shooting guard prospect with his 6-foot-6 frame.
“Even if no team decides to spend a draft pick on him, scouts will certainly want to keep an eye on him down the road to see if he continues developing skills once he’s out of college,” Treutlein said.
It brought up an interesting conversation on Twitter with former ASU guard Kyle Dodd, who works as a radio analysis for all ASU basketball games and also as a pre-draft trainer to prepare college and players from overseas for the NBA Combine.
@mastertes @draftexpress as good of a breakdown as I've seen on Carrick...Predraft process HUGE for him...a lot of people talking about him— Kyle Dodd (@K_Dodd3) January 29, 2013
@mastertes if u watch him in certain parts of a skill workout he looks like NBA 2guard...all Predraft workouts put u in 3on3 and 2on2...— Kyle Dodd (@K_Dodd3) January 29, 2013
@mastertes ...situations and that is where he needs to show he can manage screen and roll game on both sides of ball...he is getting better— Kyle Dodd (@K_Dodd3) January 29, 2013
@mastertes handles have gotten way better...just needs to have a higher comfort level making decisions while handling it— Kyle Dodd (@K_Dodd3) January 29, 2013
Dodd had a point on pick and rolls, which Felix rarely does in a game due to his position on the floor. Yet, the NBA is very pick-and-roll heavy these days. It’s trickled down to the college game and that includes ASU. Felix said Tuesday he worked on pick-and-roll situations during the summer. As Dodd said though, he’ll need to show he’s comfortable in those situations to scouts. His handles have improved dramatically this season, but it’s to an advanced level as Treutlein mentioned. Felix has a high motor, as well all saw on the last play against UCLA, and those are two things he can work on after the season.
“As much as I don’t want to think about it, I just want to stay on the present day and focus on the season, I know it’s there,” Felix said. “I’ll know I’ll have opportunities after the season to continue my basketball career. I’m just thankful for that. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I just got to continue what I’m doing now.”
Reach the reporter at mtesfats@asu.edu
