North Carolina suspends former Midlands hoops standout Jalek Felton
North Carolina has suspended former Gray Collegiate standout Jalek Felton, the school announced Tuesday.
In the school release, UNC said Felton is not able to participate in any university activities. Because of federal privacy laws, that is the extent to which UNC said it could comment.
Felton is being represented by Durham attorney Kerry Sutton, who tweeted out “ We’ll get him back in class & on the court where he belongs as soon as we can.”
Sutton told the News & Observer that they are in the process of gathering facts.
“It’s not a sanction, and he’s not being punished for something,” Sutton said to the News & Observer. “That’s just something the school does while they gather information, and that’s what we’re doing at this point, as well – we’re gathering information.”
“I had nothing to do with how it was handled,” Williams said. “That’s probably all I should say because I’ve been advised not to say anything and don’t know enough to say anything.”
The 2017 S.C. Gatorade Player of Year has played in all 22 games this season and is averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 assists per game.
Felton had a season-high 15 points against Western Carolina on Dec. 6.
Felton led the Midlands in scoring (26.3) and assists (5.4) in his lone season for Gray Collegiate after transferring from Mullins. He finished his career with 2,584 points.
UNC coach Roy Williams has often praised Felton’s talent but has often been frustrated with Felton’s inconsistency.
Felton is the nephew of former UNC point guard Raymond Felton and was the Tar Heels’ top-ranked recruit for this year’s class.
This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 11:17 AM with the headline "North Carolina suspends former Midlands hoops standout Jalek Felton."