The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team has acquired the services of a former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I player.
Ben Felix, who will receive his mechanical engineering degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. this year, will play out his final two years of eligibility with the Ravens beginning this fall.
“It seemed like a good opportunity to get back to Canada while giving me the opportunity to complete a master’s program at Carleton,” said the 23-year old B.C. native, who will pursue an MBA at the university. “Everything just fit together.”
Felix’s current coach at NU, Will Coen, said he thinks the decision to join the Ravens is beneficial for both the Ravens and Felix.
“I think it’s a bonus both for [Felix] and for Carleton because they’ll get a chance to get a guy who’s been in college and who’s been developed,” he said. “His graduation gives him an opportunity to move onto a graduate degree as well as to be a contributor in the program.”
Coen added that getting more game experience should enable Felix to continue to improve. He played nine games for the 11-20 Northeastern Huskies this season, averaging just over six minutes of playing time per game.
Felix said he thinks his experience at NU will help him to be effective with the Ravens.
“The competition I was practicing with and playing against in games was at a very high level and that helped me to develop physically [and] mentally,” Felix said. He said that while the Ravens are “already a pretty complete team,” he will be able to add some significant size at the post. At 6’11”, Felix will be the tallest player on the Ravens.
“His physical presence is going to be tremendous,” Coen said.
Felix’s dad and former coach, Marius, described Ben as a traditional-style post player.
“He’s pretty good around the basket, for a big guy he can run the floor pretty well, and I think those are the attributes [Ravens head coach Dave Smart] found attractive in Ben,” Marius said.
“[Felix] has gotten better each and every year in terms of his basketball skills,” said Coen, who coached Felix throughout his four years at NU. “He’s got a very soft touch from the outside and he’s overcome some physical injuries earlier in his career, and I think his best basketball is ahead of him.”
Felix’s recruitment is likely to have an impact on the Ravens for the next two seasons. The team is losing just one player to graduation this year in Mike Kenny, but Aaron Chapman, Cole Hobin, Elliot Thompson and Willy Manigat will have played out their eligibility once the 2011—2012 season is over.
Smart declined to comment on Felix’s recruitment, but told Flagrant Fouls, a Canadian high school basketball scouting website, that “[Felix] should add some much-needed bulk to our lineup and will give us a different look at both ends of the floor.”
Felix is the second player to have committed to join the Ravens for next season, joining 6’6” power forward Justin Shaver.
