By Sean McDevitt
FightingIllini.com

If there was ever a play that epitomizes the Brad Underwood style of basketball, it was this one.

During the first half of the Illinois men's basketball home match-up with Minnesota, Andres Feliz rebounded a missed shot and took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup. From rebound to two points, it took less than five seconds.

Rebound. Drive. Score.

Feliz goes coast-to-coast against the Gophers.  

If there was ever a play that epitomizes the career trajectory of Andres Feliz, it was that one. Rebound from challenges, drive to make himself, his family and his community better, and scoring opportunities to play Division I basketball in the United States.

His journey from the Dominican Republic to Champaign, Illinois, took considerably longer than the five seconds for him to score the ball during the Minnesota game. However, his drive and determination, at a young age, to turn his ability to play basketball into opportunities for himself and others is inspiring.

"I always want to help my family, and help others, coming from the same spot that I was in," said Feliz.

"It was hard for me."

Born in Guachupita, Dominican Republic, Feliz played his first two years of high school basketball in the Dominican, but the competition wasn't the same as the United States.

"My freshman year, I got the opportunity to play for the Dominican National Team. We went to Puerto Rico, and we won," said Feliz.

His playing on the international stage in the Pan-Am games and on FIBA U19 team in 2015 earned him a scholarship to play in the States. It was a tremendous opportunity, but a difficult one.

LEFT: A street in Feliz's hometown of Gauchupita, Dominican Repubic. RIGHT: Feliz playing for the Dominican U19 National Team.  

"I went to West Oaks Academy, down in Orlando, for the beginning of my junior year," said Feliz. "It was hard because when I first got to the United States, I didn't know any English. Nobody in the school knew how to speak Spanish, so I didn't even know how to communicate. It was really tough."

The first couple of days, he was calling his mom begging to come home. He was 16 and far away from friends, family, and support. After three months, he had a better understanding of his new home and the language. He said to himself, "All right. This is what you want to do. This is what you have to go through if you want to help in the future."

Starting his high school basketball career was just as challenging.

Feliz said, "I feel like I had the talent to be on the first team, but the language barrier wasn't good so I couldn't communicate. I was frustrated."

He spent his practice time observing his teammates: what they were doing, how they ran a play or a drill. He would purposely line-up last to make sure he could see what was happening and execute correctly. He was focused and waiting for a chance.

After a couple of his teammates were injured early in the season, Feliz was called up to help the first team. He made the most of his opportunity. Throughout the year, he became a starter and ultimately won the State Championship. Surprising even himself, he was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

His senior year, he did it all over again winning another State Championship and earning MVP honors.

"I was happy because I had the opportunity to stay in the United States, keep going, continue with my school and continue to play basketball. That's what I had to do," Feliz said.

"School first, basketball second."

The next step was college. He originally chose South Florida, which at the time was led by current Illinois assistant coach Orlando Antigua. But after a change of plans he enrolled at Northwest Florida State in Niceville, Florida.

"I started school there," said Feliz. "I started more tutoring, and my language was getting better and better."

Considered one of the top Junior College basketball coaches in America, Steve DeMeo's teams are national title contenders year after year. As he was gaining confidence in the classroom, a new basketball challenge presented itself: proving he belonged and could be a contributor on a team filled with established players.

Starting practice, Feliz worked hard on the court and off. He convinced the coaches of his talent going up against his teammates. Off the court, he started connecting with the coaching staff and working hard in the classroom.

LEFT: Illinois assistant coach Orlando Antigua chats with Feliz during an Illini game. Antigua recruited Feliz to USF out of high school. RIGHT: Feliz ended up playing his first two college seasons at Northwest Florida State junior college, earning NJCAA All-America honors in 2018. 

"I really started working more and doing everything that I could to be on the team because I didn't want to go back to the Dominican Republic," Feliz said. "My freshman year, we had so many good players. I was the only freshman in the starting line-up."

His freshman year, Northwest Florida State won the Panhandle Conference, and he was named to both the first team and first academic team.

"My mentality was always school first, basketball second," Feliz said. "That's my mentality since the day I went to college. I want to earn my degree, help my family, and help the people who inspire me."

His sophomore campaign saw Feliz come into his own. His grades were all As and Bs, he averaged 20 points, 6.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds, plus his team made the NJCAA Elite Eight. Ultimately, he was named to the NJCAA All-America first team for 2017-18, ranked as the top junior college point guard in the nation, and the 12th best junior college player overall.

"I used to play in my school shoes."

Growing up in Feliz's Dominican neighborhood was never easy.  

"Back in the day, there used to be a lot of guns and drugs and stuff like that," Feliz said. "My dad and my mother always kept me away from that stuff. I never had video games, it was hard for me to get permission to go play basketball, and it was a long time before my mom told me we could afford to get shoes to play basketball. I used to play in my school shoes."

Not having shoes inspired Feliz to give back to his community.

"Something I started to do after my sophomore year in high school was to take the shoes that I collect here and send them back home," Feliz said. "Every time I travel, I go back home and give them to the kids who play on the court that I learned how to play."

The desire to give back is strong with Feliz. Given the opportunity to come to the United States meant everything for someone coming out of his neighborhood. He didn't want to be just another name that came to the United States and then had to go back home. Setting a goal to help himself and his family meant walking the straight path, doing the right thing, and working hard.

Feliz said, "The sacrifices that I made back in the day have really paid off right now being here at this university."

"I'm going there."

Feliz had several Division I programs vying for his talent including Rutgers, SMU and Wichita State. However, it was Illinois that stood out the most.

"To be honest, when I first got recruited the University of Illinois, I looked it up on the internet," Feliz said. "The first thing I saw was the reputation of the school, and how good it is to get a degree from the University of Illinois. And when I saw the reputation that the University had, I loved it, I loved it since day one. When I got the offer, I was telling my parents, 'I'm going there.' I told my girlfriend, 'I'm going to that school.'"

With his academics-first, basketball-second mentality, Feliz is focused on getting his degree and playing college basketball at the highest level.

Feliz said, "That's my goal, getting a degree from here. So, in the future, I can help my family, help my people. That's why I appreciate each and every day I'm here."

Feliz has played a big role in Illinois' recent run of success, averaging 10.3 points per game over the last six games following the win at Ohio State. The Illini have gone 5-1 in those games.