Andrés Rafael Feliz Sarita (born July 7, 1997) is a Dominican

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Northwest Florida State Raiders and the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

. He has represented the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

-sanctioned international youth and senior level competitions and was the top scorer at the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by th ...

Early life

Feliz grew up in Guachupita, one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

in the Dominican Republic. His neighborhood received limited access to water and electricity. Because his family could not afford basketball shoes, he played in his school shoes or borrowed them from a friend.

High school career

While at West Oaks Academy in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

Feliz helped lead his varsity basketball team to consecutive Sunshine Independent Athletic Association state titles and was a two-time tournament MVP. During his junior season, he was teammates with

Corey Sanders Corey Sanders (born March 7, 1975) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. Known as "T-Rex", Sanders' most notable victory came in an upset knockout against future WBC world champion Oleg Maskaev in 2002, which temporarily ...

. As a high school senior, Feliz was named to the World Team in the 2016

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

that took place at the

Moda Center Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena h ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. During the summer of 2015, Feliz verbally committed to play for then head coach

Orlando Antigua Orlando Radhames Antigua Fernández (born February 20, 1973), nicknamed "Hurricane", is a former Dominican-American basketball player and is currently an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky under John Calipari. He is widely known as be ...

and the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, w ...

. He received interest from

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

during his recruitment.

College career

As a freshman at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, Feliz left school a few days into the semester and immediately enrolled at

Northwest Florida State College Northwest Florida State College is a public college in Niceville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Northwest Flo ...

Niceville, Florida Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population for Niceville was 12,7 ...

. As a freshman at Northwest Florida, Feliz averaged 11.6 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, and 3.2 rebounds per game while averaging 57.3 percent from the field. As a sophomore, Feliz led Northwest Florida to a Florida State Title an elite eight appearance in the

NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships is held annually in March at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, KS. The first official NJCAA National Championship was in 1948 in Springfield, MO at the Southwest State College Fieldhouse. The ...

while averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game and becoming Northwest Florida State's all-time assists leader. Feliz was named a NJCAA DI First Team All-American and to the 2018 NJCAA DI All-Tournament Team. As the top rated junior college point guard in the United States, Feliz committed to continue his college career playing for head coach

Brad Underwood Bradley Cole Underwood (born December 14, 1963) is the current head coach for the Illinois men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community ...

, his former coach Orlando Antigua, and the

. As a junior, Feliz was a spark plug coming off the bench, averaging 8.3 points, 2.2 assist, and 2.9 rebounds per game and shot 45-percent from the field and 27-percent from three-point range. He averaged 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as a senior.

Professional career

On February 12, 2021, he has signed with

CB Prat Club Bàsquet Prat is a basketball team based in El Prat de Llobregat, Catalonia (Spain). The team currently plays in league LEB Oro. History Basketball arrived to El Prat de Llobregat in 1932 with the constitution of the ''Esplai Grupo 49'' in t ...

of the

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonces ...

. On July 13, 2021, he has signed with

Club Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two tea ...

of the

The Basketball Tournament

Feliz joined House of 'Paign, a team composed primarily of Illinois alumni in

The Basketball Tournament 2020 The Basketball Tournament 2020 was the seventh edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament, involving 24 teams, started on July 4 and continued through the championship game on Jul ...

. He scored 20 points and had seven rebounds in a 76–53 win over War Tampa in the first round.

National team career

Feliz made his international debut for the

Dominican Republic national basketball team The Dominican Republic national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de República Dominicana) represents the Dominican Republic in men's international basketball competitions. In 2011 and 2012, John Calipari, the head coach of the U ...

during the 2013 Centrobasket U17 Championship for Men. In 2014, he won a bronze medal playing for the Dominican Republic national team in the

2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship Standings Group A ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- Final round * denotes overtime period Classification 5–8 ---- Semifinals ---- Final classification games Seventh place game Fifth place game Bronze me ...

. In 2015, Feliz was the leading scorer in the

, averaging 18.9 points and 3.7 assists in seven games. He also played for the Dominican Republic national team during the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

Career statistics

College

NCAA Division I

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, 33 , , 5 , , 22.3 , , .453 , , .270 , , .755 , , 2.9 , , 2.2 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 15 , , 26.8 , , .460 , , .274 , , .769 , , 5.0 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .0 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 64 , , 20 , , 24.5 , , .457 , , .273 , , .763 , , 3.9 , , 2.6 , , .9 , , .0 , , 9.6

JUCO

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Northwest Florida State , 28 , , 28 , , 25.0 , , .573 , , .184 , , .702 , , 3.2 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Northwest Florida State , 34 , , 33 , , 31.0 , , .611 , , .418 , , .772 , , 5.7 , , 6.1 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , 20.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 62 , , 61 , , 28.3 , , .597 , , .349 , , .750 , , 4.6 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 16.2

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bioNorthwest Florida State Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feliz, Andrés 1997 births Living people Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players from Orlando, Florida CB Prat players Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in Spain Dominican Republic expatriate basketball people in the United States Dominican Republic men's basketball players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Northwest Florida State Raiders men's basketball players Pan American Games competitors for the Dominican Republic Shooting guards Sportspeople from Santo Domingo 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players