Jalek Felton is the new addition of Petrol Olimpija

Friday, 13. July 2018 at 10:36

Petrol Olimpija has gotten stronger in the light of the beginning of the 2018/19 season with another player from the United States. Jalek Felton, who wore the University of North Carolina jersey in the 2017/18 season, is coming to Ljubljana.

Zoran Martic (Photo: Buducnost VOLI)

Jalek Felton comes from Mullins, S.C., and his uncle is Raymond Felton, who currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. The 34-year-old has won a NCAA title with the Tar Heels. Younger Felton was the first player of the 2017 high-school generation, who committed to playing for the UNC, and he did so in 2014.

Felton appeared in 22 games and averaged 2.9 points, 1.6 assists and 0.9 rebounds per game in the NCAA, and he spent an average of 9.7 minutes per game on the court. This will be the first season overseas for Felton, who is considered a very talented players, who did not show his true potential in the short time spent with the Tar Heels.

Felton was delighted as he signed the agreement with the Ljubljana squad: “I’m very excited to join a club like Olimpija. They have a great tradition where a lot of NBA players started their careers. This is a big step for me. I know it will be a big challenge and I am ready to get over there and get to work. My agent told me about the different leagues that Olimpija will be playing in and that made me even more excited about this first step in my pro career. Playing in such competitions against very strong teams with Olimpija in Europe will help prepare me for the NBA. The city looks really nice and I’ve heard that basketball is like a religion out there, so that’s going to be a cool experience.”

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Jalek Felton okrepil Petrol Olimpijo

Petrol Olimpija je seznam igralcev, ki bodo v sezoni 2018/19 nosili dres ljubljanskega moštva, podaljšala za novega ameriškega košarkarja. V Ljubljano prihaja Jalek Felton, ki je v sezoni 2017/18 nosil dres Univerze Severna Karolino.

Jalek Felton prihaja iz Mullinsa v Južni Karolino, njegov stric pa je veliko bolj znani Raymond Felton, ki trenutno nosi dres Oklahoma City Thunder v Ligi NBA, z Univerzo Severne Karoline pa je 34-letni organizator igre leta 2005 osvojil naslov prvaka NCAA. Mlajši Felton je bil prvi igralec v srednješolski generaciji leta 2017, ki je želel zaigrati za Južno Karolino, željo po tem pa je izrazil že leta 2014.

Na 22 tekmah v sezoni 2017/18 v dresu UNC je Felton v povprečju dosegal 2,9 točke, 1,6 podaje in 0,9 skoka na tekmo, na parketu pa v povprečju preživel 9,7 minute na dvoboj. Za Feltona bo to prva preizkušnja v tujini, velja pa za izjemno talentiranega košarkarja, ki v kratkem času, ki ga je prebil na Severni Karolini, ni pokazal celotnega razkošja svojega talenta.

Jalek Felton, je bil navdušen ob podpisu pogodbe z Ljubljančani: "Vesel sem, da se bom pridružil klubu, kot je Petrol Olimpija. To je klub z bogato tradicijo, kjer je veliko NBA igralcev začelo svoje kariere. Zame je to velik korak. Vem, da bo to zame velik izziv in pripravljem sem iti tja in se lotiti dela. Agent mi je dejal, da bo Olimpija igrala v različnih tekmovanjih in zaradi tega me vse skupaj še bolj veseli. Igranje v takih tekmovanjih z Olimpijo v Evropi me bo pripravilo na igranje v Ligi NBA. Mesto izgleda lepo in slišal sem, da je košarka tam kot religija, zato bo to zanimiva izkušnja."

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