Raymond Felton

This was the fifth men's basketball championship in UNC's history (1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005).

Felton hit a key three-pointer over Deron Williams to break a 65–65 tie late in the game, and then came up with a crucial steal in the final seconds when Illinois had a chance to either tie the game or take the lead.

His two free throws after the steal provided the final scoring in the game.

Felton averaged 12.9 points and 6.9 assists per game during his junior season and showed a much-improved shooting touch.

In recognition of his efforts, he was voted to the All-ACC First Team that season.

Felton also won the Bob Cousy Award that honors the best collegiate point guard.

Following his junior campaign, EA Sports put Felton on the cover of NCAA March Madness 06.

Raymond Bernard Felton Jr. (born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Felton played college basketball for the University of North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams.

At North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Heels to a national championship before declaring for the NBA draft.

Felton won the South Carolina Mr. Basketball award as both a junior and senior, and was named Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2002.

He was the MVP of the 2002 Roundball Classic at the United Center in Chicago, and was selected for the 2002 McDonald's All-American Game (at Madison Square Garden in New York City).

Felton played in the McDonald's All-American Game on the same team with two future New York Knicks teammates, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.

Considered a five-star recruit by Scout.com, Felton was listed as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 3 player in his high school class in 2002.

In his freshman year, he was voted Carolina Player of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Week three times.

He had 236 assists, and averaged 12.0 points a game.

During his sophomore year, he was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, had 213 assists, and led the Tar Heels in steals (63) and free throw percentage (81%) while averaging 11.5 points per game.

Also notable in his second year, Felton set a single-game school-record 18 assists against George Mason on December 7, 2003.

Felton was drafted fifth overall in the 2005 NBA draft.

Over his career, Felton was a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, New York Knicks (twice), Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

He played the point guard position.

Felton began his basketball career at Latta High School in Latta, South Carolina.

He led his high school to two state championships and a career record of 104–9.

In the process, Felton set state scoring records with 2,992 points and 117 three-pointers.

In his third and final season at North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Heels along with fellow juniors Rashad McCants and Sean May and freshman Marvin Williams to the 2005 national championship over the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on April 4, 2005, in St. Louis.

Felton was selected 5th overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats.

Felton was drafted after point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

University of North Carolina teammates Marvin Williams, Rashad McCants and Sean May were also selected in the draft.

Felton showed promise right out of college, having his breakout game scoring 31 points against the Phoenix Suns in a Bobcats loss.

Felton's best all-around game of his rookie year occurred January 28, 2006, when he recorded 18 points and 13 assists against the Washington Wizards.

Felton started 54 of 82 games for the Bobcats and averaged 11.9 points per game, 5.6 assists per game, and 3.3 rebounds per game.

In his rookie year, Felton recorded 13 double-doubles.

Felton was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Felton came into his second year as the Bobcats' starting point guard.

Felton improved in mostly every statistic category, raising his assist per game tally from 5.6 to 7.0.

Instrumental in the increase was the improved play of teammates Gerald Wallace, Sean May, and Emeka Okafor and the addition of then-rookies Adam Morrison and Walter Herrmann.

Despite Felton's solid season, the Bobcats missed the playoffs.

Coming into his third year, the Bobcats looked for more talent for Felton to distribute to, bringing in popular scoring shooting guard Jason Richardson.

The 2007–08 season was still, however, a season of rebuilding for the Bobcats; several players took a step back instead of a step forward.

May, Morrison and Herrmann took steps back and the Bobcats were plagued with injuries.