Kay Felder

Kay Felder

Felder in a 2014 game against Youngstown State
No. 20 Cleveland Cavaliers
Position Point guard
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1995-03-29) March 29, 1995
Detroit, Michigan
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight 176 lb (80 kg)
Career information
High school Pershing (Detroit, Michigan)
College Oakland (2013–2016)
NBA draft 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 54th overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career 2016–present
Career history
2016–present Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Kahlil Ameer "Kay" Felder Jr. (born March 29, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Felder, a 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) point guard, declared for the 2016 NBA draft at the conclusion of his junior year at Oakland. Felder is the Horizon League career assists leader.

High school career

Felder attended Pershing High School in Detroit, Michigan where he was named Public School League MVP his senior season.[1] His senior year, he finished fourth in Mr. Basketball of Michigan voting.[2]

He was not heavily recruited by high-major colleges and was noticed by Oakland assistant coach Saddi Washington.[2] Felder was also recruited by Akron, Southern Illinois and St. Bonaventure.[3] Oakland offered Felder a scholarship when he was a sophomore and he committed prior to his senior season. To show their commitment to him, Oakland did not recruit a point guard the season before he arrived so Felder knew there would be no competition.[4]

College career

Freshman season

Felder won the Horizon League's Freshman of the Year Award.[4]

Sophomore season

His sophomore season, Felder finished second in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with 7.6 assists per game,[1] two assists behind the leader, Jalan West of Northwestern State.[5] He was also a finalist for the Lou Henson Award, given to the "Mid-Major Player of the Year".[6]

Junior season

During this season, he was consistently being evaluated as a National Basketball Association draft prospect, with professional scouts having attended Oakland's games.[2][4] On December against Power Seven Conference schools Washington, then-No. 1 Michigan State, and then-No. 5 Virginia, Felder averaged 35.0 points, 7.0 assists and made 47.9% of his field goals.[7] Oakland led at halftime of each of those games, beating Washington, but losing to Michigan State and Virginia. Felder scored 37 points with nine assists against Michigan State in a 99–93 overtime loss at The Palace of Auburn Hills.[2]

Felder was named a top-five finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the top male point guard in Division I.[8] He was also named the mid-season recipient of the Lute Olson Award, given annually to the most outstanding non-freshman men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I.[6] He was placed on the mid-season watch list for the Naismith College Player of the Year.[9]

Felder won the NCAA Player of the Week award on February 9, 2016.[10] He also won six Horizon League Player of the Week awards during the season. This tied the Horizon League record.[11]

Despite using only three of his four years of college eligibility, Felder broke the Horizon League career assists mark of 699, which was originally set by Ralph Lee of Xavier in 1986.[12] Felder also set the Oakland school record for consecutive free throws made, making 46 in a row with his last miss on January 29.[13] Felder was named the Horizon League Conference's Player of the Year and the All-Horizon League's First Team.[14]

On April 5, 2016, Felder declared for the 2016 NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.[15]

College statistics

[16][17]

Year Team GP GS MPG FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% REB RPG AST APG STL BLK PTS PPG
2013–14 Oakland 33 33 32.4 102 254 .402 20 62 .323 90 119 .756 129 3.9 212 6.4 29 4 314 9.5
2014–15 Oakland 33 33 38.5 183 434 .422 47 139 .338 185 224 .826 158 4.8 252 7.6 66 8 598 18.1
2015–16 Oakland 35 35 36.7 269 612 .440 76 214 .355 239 282 .848 149 4.3 324 9.3 69 7 853 24.4
Career 101 101 35.9 554 1,300 .426 143 415 .345 514 625 .822 436 4.3 788 7.8 164 19 1,765 17.5

Bold italics indicates led NCAA Division I

Professional career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2016–present)

During the 2016 NBA Draft Combine, the 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) Felder tied Pat Connaughton for the second-highest maximum vertical leap recorded in draft combine history at 44 inches (110 cm).[18] Despite his high marks in the draft combine, Felder was still projected to be a late second round draft pick, with the risk that he would perhaps not get drafted altogether. Felder was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 54th overall pick. He was later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on draft night,[19] and in July 2016, he joined the Cavaliers for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[20] On August 6, 2016, he signed a three-year, $2.4 million contract with the Cavaliers.[21][22] He made his debut for the Cavaliers in their third game of the season on October 29, scoring two points in five minutes off the bench in a 105–99 win over the Orlando Magic.[23]

Personal life

Felder's father, Kahlil Felder Sr, played basketball at Eastern Michigan from 1990 to 1992.[4][24] Felder is also the younger cousin of former NBA player Steve Smith.[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "20 Kay Felder". Oakland University. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gerstner, Joanne C. (January 27, 2016). "Key Measure of a 5-9 College Star: 25.3 Points a Game". New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  3. Paul, Tony (February 9, 2016). "Kay Felder is Oakland's big little man". Detroit News. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Medcalf, Myron (February 4, 2016). "Kahlil Felder might be only 5-foot-9, but he could do something unprecedented in college basketball". ESPN. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  5. "2014-15 Leaders". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Mid-Season Player of Year Honors". January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  7. http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/kahlil-felder-1/gamelog/2016/
  8. "Final Five Candidates Announced for 2016 Bob Cousy Award". Basketball Hall of Fame. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  9. Payne, Terrence (February 11, 2016). "Naismith Trophy midseason list announced". Fox Sports. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  10. "Men's Basketball: Kay Felder named Player of the Week". NCAA. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  11. "Oakland University's Kay Felder named Horizon League Men's Player of the Week for 6th time". WXYZ. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  12. "OU's Felder sets assist record in loss; UDM falls". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. February 12, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  13. "Oakland beats Wright State 89-73 for 2nd place in Horizon". The News Tribune. Associated Press. February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  14. Jahnke, James (March 1, 2016). "Horizon League basketball awards: OU's Kay Felder player of the year". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  15. Snyder, Mark (April 5, 2016). "Oakland's Kay Felder declares for NBA draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  16. "Kay Felder Stats". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  17. "Individual Career History" (PDF). Oakland University. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  18. Snyder, Mark (May 13, 2016). "NBA draft combine: Oakland's Kay Felder living up to tall ambitions". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  19. Facher, Lev (June 24, 2016). "NBA draft: Oakland's Kay Felder goes in Round 2 to Cleveland". Detroit Free Press.
  20. "Cavs Announce 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  21. "Cavaliers Sign Kay Felder". NBA.com. August 6, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  22. Manning, Chris (August 7, 2016). "Kay Felder's deal is for three-years, $2.4 million". fearthesword.com. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  23. "LeBron James, Kyrie Irving lead Cavaliers past Magic, 105-99". ESPN.com. October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  24. "2015-16 Eastern Michigan men's basketball media guide" (PDF). Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  25. Hudson, Jill (September 20, 2016). "Steve Smith talks preseason basketball and his journey to the small screen". The Undefeated. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
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