A stellar senior season has landed former ASU wing Carrick Felix a spot on an NBA roster.
With the 33rd pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted the 6-foot-6 shooting guard in the second round of the NBA Draft Thursday. Felix joins fellow draftees power forward Anthony Bennett (No. 1 overall, UNLV) and shooting guard Sergey Karasev (No. 19 overall, Russia) under new coach Mike Brown.
The Goodyear Millennium High School product is the first Sun Devil to be taken in the NBA Draft since the Sacramento Kings selected Jeff Pendergraph with the 31st pick in 2009.
Felix averaged 14.6 points on 50 percent shooting, 8.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 2012-13, earning him a spot on the All-Pac-12 Second Team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He helped the Sun Devils finish with a 22-13 record and place sixth in the Pac-12 standings. Felix gained some national attention after finishing second in the 2013 College Slam Championships in April but he wasn't listed on most analysts' mock draft boards despite attending the NBA Combine.
Felix graduated from ASU in 2012 with a Bachelor's of Science in communications and completed his masters in liberal studies in 2013. He was named the 2013 Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year and onto the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team in men's basketball.
The Cavaliers finished 24-58 in the 2012-13 NBA season but features young talent such as All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, shooting guard Dion Waiters, power forward Tristan Thompson and center Tyler Zeller. Felix will likely compete with the Cavaliers at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July for his first chance at making Cleveland's final roster.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
