‘I’m not a normal 8th-grader.’ No, Jahseem Felton, Raymond’s cousin, much more than that
Jahseem Felton, 14, is the No. 1-ranked eighth-grader in the nation, and he doesn’t mind the target that comes with it.
“I’m not a normal eighth-grader,” said Felton, cousin of former North Carolina and NBA point guard Raymond Felton. “My (basketball) IQ, the way I play and how I handle my business, it’s like I’m older, it’s like I’m in high school.”
At 6-foot-4 and dunking, Felton starts on the Westminster Catawba high school team and plays four different positions. He averages 14 points, five assists and four rebounds for Westminster (20-4), which beat Hickory Christian 69-30 in a third-round N.C. Independent Schools 2A home playoff game Friday.
And Felton said that ever since Coast 2 Coast preps, which tracks middle school players nationally, ranked him No. 1 in his class on New Year’s Day, his basketball world has certainly changed.
“Everybody wants to come for my spot,” Felton said. “They do anything. They talk junk about me. They try to foul me or hurt me in games. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, if I was in your grade, you wouldn’t be No. 1.’ ”
Westminster Catawba first-year coach Ed Addie said Felton has handled the increased attention — and the increased scrutiny — with a poise that belies his years.
“I think Jah, as an eighth-grader, is as good as some of the best eighth-graders I’ve ever coached, including Devon Dotson (of Kansas), a McDonald’s All-American (at Providence Day), (former Providence Day star) Trey Wertz now at Santa Clara, and Grant Williams (former Providence Day and Tennessee star) who is a first-round NBA Draft pick (Celtics), just to name a few. I see where Jah is at the same level as those guys but in some ways better.”
Addie plays Felton mainly at point guard and shooting guard but marvels at how, whatever he asks Felton to do, often playing against guys four or five years older, the 14-year-old star will jump at the chance.
“He has a work ethic,” Addie said. “He’s extremely humble, and he wants it. A lot of people play at that level and say they want it, but don’t do what it takes to get there. Jah is one of the few kids that does what it takes.”
Like last summer, he worked at a youth camp at the Elite Athlete Training (EAT) Academy, a center off North Tryon Street near uptown that is a popular training spot for current and former Mecklenburg County basketball players.
After working at camp all day, Felton would often spend two to three hours working on his game into the night.
“I see where basketball can take you,” Felton said, “and my parents say you can rest when you make it. I’m not the kid that likes to sit around and play video games. I like to be productive, so I go to the gym and work out.”
For now, Felton said his favorite college is Duke. Pressed, given his cousin played in Chapel Hill, he added UNC, too.
But he said college is a long way off.
He’s got big plans for Westminster Catawba before then.
Before now, Westminster was a little known small S.C. private school that played in N.C. conferences and state tournaments. In the five seasons before this one, Westminster won 16 games total. The school had not had a winning season since at least 2005.
Addie was hired this season to turn that around. He once turned Kennedy Charter into a regional power that produced five Division I players in the 2011-12 season. Kennedy Charter finished 24-3. Addie has long been a successful AAU coach and is now director of the adidas-sponsored Team Loaded North Carolina program.
On Friday, Addie won his 20th game at his new school.
“Coach Addie has won state championships, AAU championships, so we believe everything he says,” Felton said. “One of our mottos is ‘Trust The Process.’ We’re trying to win a state championship this year and bring it back to Westminster.
“I want this to become a national team, playing against IMG and Montverde Academy, so our name can be top five in the lists. It can happen. I want to win a state championship, like three or four in a row, break a lot of records here, just win games and make the teachers and fans happy.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 2:23 PM.
