James Felton, New Jersey basketball star whose collegiate career was sidetracked by disciplinary problems
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Associated Press
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A former New Jersey schoolboy basketball star whose
collegiate career was sidetracked by disciplinary problems has died of
natural causes.
James Felton was found at his apartment late Saturday night. The
27-year-old suffered from diabetes and other medical conditions,
according to the police report.
As a 6-foot-9 forward for Bayonne's Marist High, Felton was considered
one of the nations' top 50 scholastic players in 1996 by some
publications and was recruited by many of the country's top collegiate
programs.
He chose St. John's but was dismissed from the team in December of his
freshman year for disciplinary reasons, a pattern that he would repeat
itself throughout the next several years.
Felton transferred to Florida State, where he stayed about a semester
before leaving without being eligible to play, recalled former
Seminoles coach Steve Robinson.
"I thought he was talented and he had ability," Robinson said. "It was
just unfortunate that he wasn't able to put it all together. He tried
to do what we asked him to do. Sometimes his work ethic was a little up
and down, but I think he wanted to be successful."
>From there Felton moved on to St. Peter's, where again he did not
remain long enough to restore his eligibility. He finally landed at
Fairleigh Dickinson in 2000 and played two seasons, leading the team in
scoring in 2001-02.
His time at FDU was also marked by off-court problems, however, and he
was suspended temporarily at the beginning of his final season for what
the school termed a violation of athletic department policy.
Within the last year, Felton had been working as a substitute teacher
in the Jersey City school district, according to friends.