Felicio making the most of his chance
Cristiano Felicio wasn't a household name when he showed up on the Chicago Bulls' summer-league roster last year. But the native of Brazil didn't exactly materialize from nowhere.
The 6-foot-11, 266-pound Felicio is from a small town in Brazil, but he spent a year of high school in Sacramento, California, and planned to play in college at Oregon.
Those plans fell through when he was declared ineligible by the NCAA. So Felicio returned to Brazil, declared for the NBA draft in 2014 and went unselected.
Felicio attended CCSE Prep Academy, one of those basketball-oriented prep schools without an actual academic building.
There was controversy surrounding the institution, with question about its academic worthiness and reports of abuse allegations by several students.
Felicio's move to the U.S. didn't pay off in a college scholarship, but he does speak English well. Before arriving in the U.S., he played for Brazil's national team and attended the Nike Global Challenge.
On Saturday, Felicio talked about switching from soccer to basketball at age 13.
"I grew up in Brazil. We all play soccer," he said. "I was growing (taller) and I couldn't play soccer anymore. They wanted me to play goalie, and I didn't want to do that. That's why I switched to basketball."
No luck for LeBron:
After Saturday's game, Cleveland's LeBron James talked about how the Bulls managed to go 3-1 against the Cavs this season but will miss the playoffs.
"They always play well versus us. It's just human nature," James said, according to Cleveland.com. "When they see me, it's like, 'OK.' They wish I wore every uniform at this point. They definitely step up their game when they see me."
James also wished he got a chance at the potential go-ahead 3-pointer that Matthew Dellavedova air-balled in the final seconds.
"I definitely would have loved to been in that position after it got swung to Kev (Love) and to Delly," James said. "I wish that was me for sure. One more swing. Selfishly, I wish I had a look at it the way I was shooting the ball tonight. But Delly left it short."
James hit 13 of 17 shots for 33 points in Saturday's loss to the Bulls at the United Center.
Injury update:
Coach Fred Hoiberg said Taj Gibson (fractured rib) and E'Twaun Moore (hamstring) planned to make the trip to New Orleans but are not likely to play Monday against the Pelicans.