Dennis Alan Felton (born June 21, 1963) is an American basketball coach who is an assistant coach at

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

. His previous positions included a stint as the associate head coach at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

under then-head coach Kim English, and an assistant role at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. He is also the former head men's basketball coach at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

, and Cleveland State, and also served as a player personnel assistant for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Felton was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan and spent his early years living in and visiting a variety of locales around the world, due to his father's career in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. His family eventually moved to

Clinton, Maryland Clinton is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Clinton was formerly known as Surrattsville until after the time of the Civil War, and Robeystown from 1865 to 1878. The population o ...

, a suburban town in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, area, a short distance from

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

. Felton graduated from Surrattsville High School in 1981 and went on to

Prince George's Community College Prince George's Community College (PGCC) is a Public college, public community college in Largo, Maryland, Largo in Prince George's County, Maryland. The college serves Prince George's County and surrounding areas, including Washington, D.C. H ...

. He completed his athletic and academic careers at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

in 1985, where he was a

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

All-Academic selection.

College coaching

Felton got his start in the coaching profession as an assistant

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 (appro ...

coach at Oxon Hill High School in 1984. He then became an assistant coach at Charles County Community College, for one season (1985–86) before moving on to

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

as an assistant coach for four seasons (1986–90). Felton continued his collegiate career with one season each at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

and St. Joseph's University. In 1992, he took an assistant's post at

under Rick Barnes. That season began a 6-year apprenticeship with Barnes that included two with the Friars and four at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

(1994–98). The six teams that Barnes and Felton coached together all posted winning seasons (including three 20-win campaigns), all played in the postseason (four NCAA berths, two in the NIT) and went 114–71, averaging 19 wins per year.

Western Kentucky

In the spring of 1998, just before Barnes left Clemson for

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Felton was named the head coach at

. His first two Hilltopper squads went a combined 24–34. The 1999 team advanced to the

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered stretching across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the Parallel 36°30′ north. Several climates can be found in the re ...

Tournament title game. His Hilltopper teams won the Sun Belt Conference tournament titles in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Georgia

In April 2003 Felton was hired as the head coach at the

. Felton also took assistant coaches Bert Tucker and Ken McDonald as well as associate head coach Pete Herrmann with him to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In his first four seasons at Georgia, Felton had compiled a 58–63 record with two NIT appearances while attempting to lead Georgia back from the severe disadvantages that previous coach Jim Harrick dealt the program. Despite having only 9 scholarship players in 2007–2008, Felton's Bulldogs completed a successful run in SEC tournament championship history. Entering the 2008 SEC men's basketball tournament as the lowest seed, Georgia won 4 games in 3 days to capture the conference tournament crown and the corresponding automatic berth in the 2008 NCAA men's basketball tournament. In their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002, the Bulldogs were defeated by

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

in the first round in

On January 29, 2009, Dennis Felton was fired as head coach of the UGA Men's Basketball team. This came with a losing streak that left the team with a 9–11 record in mid-season. He finished his career as the coach of UGA Men's Basketball team with an 84–91 record. Associate head coach Pete Herrmann finished the 2008–2009 season as the interim head coach.

Tulsa

Felton returned to college coaching after stints in the NBA, as an assistant coach on Frank Haith's staff at Tulsa.

Cleveland State

On March 24, 2017, Felton was hired as the head coach of Cleveland State University. On March 27, 2017 Felton was officially introduced as head coach. Felton's contract was for five years. On July 12, 2019, he was fired, along with his entire coaching staff.

Fordham

In 2019, Felton was hired as an assistant coach at

George Mason

In 2021, Felton was hired by Kim English to be the associate head coach at

. The Patriots went 34-29 in their two years on the staff.

Providence (second stint)

Felton, who coached at

from 1992–94, returned to the Friars' coaching staff as an assistant in 2023, following English when he was named Providence's head coach in March.

NBA coaching career

During the 2009–2010

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

season, Felton served on the scouting staff for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, mainly observing

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

games in the Southeast. He was also a part of the Suns' war room during the

draft in June 2010, led by General Manager

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the United States men's national ...

and head coach Alvin Gentry. On June 28, 2010, the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

announced that Felton would be an assistant coach for their Summer League team. Prior to the start of the 2010–2011 NBA season, he was hired by the

as Director of Pro Player Personnel, a position he held through 2013.

Head coaching record

Personal

Felton is married to the former Melanie Smith, who is also a Howard alumna. The couple reside in Milton, Georgia with their two sons, Jazz and Nile. Jazz and Nile are both basketball players. Jazz was a part of Milton High School's state championship team as a freshman in 2009–2010. Jazz will attend WKU and will serve on Ray Harper's coaching staff.

References

External links