Mr. Basketball 2024: Tyler Felt

The Spectrum Thunder post was named MVP of the 4A provincials after leading them to the B.C. title, but with another year of high school left, his ceiling has yet to be reached

At six-foot-eight, Tyler Felt is hard to miss. But there he was, MIA, in the biggest game of his high school season. In the first half of the Spectrum Thunder’s quarterfinal against the Burnaby South Rebels in the boys 4A provincial quarterfinals, he was invisible.

He had two points; his Rebels counterpart, 6-8 forward Keoni Sacco, had bullied him with 14 first-quarter points, and the seventh-ranked Rebs were leading the province’s No. 1 team with halftime a few minutes away.

“He was getting his butt kicked a little bit,” said his school coach, Tyler Verde. “I spoke to him ... and was like ‘Hey, Let's go, man. Like, this is your time.’” 

Then Felt turned green, went Super Saiyan, took off his glasses ... insert your superhero transformative moment of choice. He went from invisible to invincible. With the minutes ticking down in the second quarter, Felt hit a three to put Spectrum in front for the first time since the game’s early moments, sparking a 9-0 run to end the half. 

The Thunder never looked back that night at the Langley Events Centre — Felt finished with 19, had six blocks and held Sacco without a field goal in the final quarter — and they never looked back the rest of the tournament, either, storming to their first provincial title with Felt winning tournament MVP. 

He’s also earned the honour of being named the Basketball Beat’s 2024 Mr. Basketball, an honour bestowed by a panel of club basketball coaches from across the province. 

The fact he was just the game’s fourth-highest scorer in the game against Burbaby — and third on his team, no less — shows the impact he had in the game. Whether it was his defence, clutch offence, ability to handle pressure in the press break, he was pivotal, earning Player of the Game honours. 

Said Verde: “I asked him after the game like, what was the difference? You were literally a different player in the second half.' He said: ‘I got angry.’”

“I don't even know how to explain it. I was just more intense. More physical. I just can't explain,” said Felt. “That run flipped the game for us. We got hot and then we just stayed hot.”

The Victoria product got better and better in the tournament, capping it with a 12-of-15 shooting performance that netted 26 points, while grabbing 12 rebounds and four blocks in a dominant 92-72 win over the Tamanawis Wildcats. 

The day after, it was back to work: tryouts for the Canada West Hoops squad. Not that there was doubt he was going to make the team — he and two of his Spectrum teammates, Justin Hinrichsen and Jay Helman, were part of Vancouver Sports Club's platinum squad that won their division at the prestigious Las Vegas Live tournament in the summer. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6C_pLS1XzY

There is a serious degree of dedication that it takes to play for a Lower Mainland club while living in on the Island. The Spectrum trio, plus two more Oak Bay players, commute to Vancouver for practice, hosting or being hosted every other weekend. 

“I want to play past high school. I want get to the next level and succeed that next level,” said Felt. “We don't get the exposure that the Vancouver guys get, but we definitely have that skill level. ... Not all of the good basketball is in Vancouver.” 

Felt’s eyes on playing post-secondary basketball, once his senior year is up. The calls are coming in already, from universities and prep schools alike, but he’s focused on his summer and Grade 12 year. He'll be playing for Canada West Hoops on the Under Armour Rise circuit this summer, the perfect opportunity to showcase his growth and potential in front of high-profile university coaches.

Felt knows his game has to level up along with his growing frame. 

With Spectrum, he’s primarily a post, though Verde has given him free rein to push the ball in transition, a rare 6-8 player who can lead the break with competent ball-handling and passing skills. With him in the paint, the Thunder could be aggressive on the perimeter, with a player who averaged 3.5 blocks — as a Grade 10 player in 4A ball. 

“He's probably one of the best shot blockers I've ever seen in my life. His timing is impeccable,” said Verde. 

“By far, he is the dominant defensive player in the province,” added Chris Franklin, who coaches Spectrum’s heated Victoria rivals (Oak Bay) as well as the VSC club team. 

Franklin has coached Felt since Grade 5, with Bay Nation, but the Victoria-based club merged with VSC two years ago. He’s seen his lanky charge grow in stature and disposition.

“He's become a lot more confident. When he was a little one, he was very passive,” said Franklin. “It was most common for him to ... be in the background. Let the other kids make the plays, let the other kids do things. He would play good defence and hustle and all those things, but once he hit his height in high school, especially as a grade 10, he's become far more confident, far more willing to make a mistake. He stepped up as a prominent player.”

While admitting his obvious bias, Verde said he didn’t think there was an equivalent player in the B.C. high school ranks. 

“I don't think so. At his actual skill level, I don't think so,” he said. “He's a special player. You hear "six foot eight" and you think, 'Oh, he's back-to-the-basket and slow. 

He is quick. He's agile. He gets rebounds and he pushes the break. He's a good three-point shooter ... he's a tremendous passer as well. He still needs to get a bit stronger ... but he's definitely the full package.

“That's something that I think of for him is going to be key: having that sort of killer instinct,” he added. “Like the ‘I’m the best player out here. I gotta be dominant' (mindset). And like we saw that in the finals of provincials. It was like, 'Oh, he's ready to go. He's locked in.' If he can harness that kind of effort, that aggressiveness ... He'll literally be unstoppable.”

In addition to that fire, Felt has his long-range shooting consistency and expanding his post repertoire at the top of his list for his upcoming summer with VSC. Basketball legend Ken Shields is also working with Felt on his post-game. 

“In school season, I'm definitely more than the paint because I smaller guys are guarding me. So if I have an advantage, it’s good to use it,” he said this week, shortly after a workout with Shields.

“Some of the league games might not be the most intense games ... but I don't really ever don't ever feel bad about dunking on anybody (shorter). 

“In the summer, I definitely play more perimeter. I'm a bigger guys, working on becoming more complete. The level of competition is way different. In club, it’s the top two, three guys on the school team coming together. So there's no there's no weak point on any of the teams. Everybody's athletic. Everybody can shoot. It's a different level of compete.”

Despite being his club coach, Franklin likes to think of summer ball as the off-season. He already has plans for Felt being further away from the basket, running off screens and being a shooter. He wants Felt to learn to play total basketball, not just be a one-on-one player.

“In club, we want the kids to feel more free to make mistakes,” said Franklin. “Just the idea that it's the off-season is that you're trying to get better, and part of getting better is that you're exploring your game. You're not a centre, you're a basketball player. The more the more he learns, the more skills he learns the more valuable he'll become to his university. 

"In university, you got to be able to shoot. If you can hit threes, he's more valuable. If you can break down players he's more valuable.

"He's just trying to acquire as many skills as he can and prepare to play post-secondary, which is ultimately what we're trying to do both in high school and in club; to prepare the kids to play post-secondary athletics.”