Suspended UNC Guard Jalek Felton Withdraws from University

North Carolina freshman Jalek Felton has withdrawn from the university, according to Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer.

His attorney, Kerry Sutton, posted a brief statement from her Twitter account:

"Essentially they kicked him out without giving him his rights," Sutton said in an interview Thursday, per Andrew Carter of the Raleigh News Observer. "It's disturbing."

"We have a problem with how he has been treated," Sutton said, per Carter. "And this is far from over. He had UNC's back when they were up against the wall with the NCAA. He was the only five-star recruit that would even talk to them. UNC in a heartbeat turned their back on him."

Felton was suspended by the team in January for a misconduct case. He was unable to participate in team-related activities or attend classes during his suspension.

Felton appeared in 22 games this season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.6 assists in 9.7 minutes per game this year.

Head coach Roy Williams explained after the initial suspension his value beyond the numbers.

"Even if Jalek hasn't played as well as he wanted to play or as well as I wanted [him] to play, we've always been able to give Joel a couple breathers," Williams said, per Joe Giglio of the News & Observer. "A couple of times [Felton] has really done some good things. We probably don't beat Ohio State if we don't have Jalek making threes in that game."

His exit represents a disappointing conclusion for a player with a bright future with this program.

The nephew of Raymond Felton, Jalek was one of the first commitments anywhere in the 2017 class, giving his verbal commitment back in 2014. He remained the highest-rated player in the five-man class for the Tar Heels, considered No. 30 overall and the No. 1 combo guard by 247Sports.

Now, it appears his time with North Carolina has come to an end.

Joel Berry will continue to play as many minutes as possible for the Tar Heels as they prepare for their regular-season finale against Duke Saturday, while Seventh Woods and Andrew Platek will likely get the extra playing time in the backcourt.