Former First Presbyterian Christian Academy Highlander D.J. Felder will be a little closer to home this basketball season after transferring from St. John’s River College in Florida to East Georgia College in Swainsboro.
Felder, a 6-foot-7, 225 pound forward from Hinesville will bring scoring and rebounding to the Bobcats, according to EGC spokesperson Jerry Hooks. Last year at St. John’s Felder averaged 12.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in Florida JUCO play. Bobcats’ head coach Neil Bailey thinks he will have an immediate impact. An explosive scorer, he had a season-high of 32 points against rival Central Florida College.
Felder will join his former Highlander teammate Jordan Johnson at EGC. Johnson played in 26 games with 24 starts last season for the Bobcats, scoring a total of 331 points while recording 91 rebounds and 132 assists.
Also playing for EGC is former Long County Blue Tide and Liberty County High School player Lazaruss Baggs.
Baggs was at LCHS as a freshman and sophomore  before moving to Long County and joining the Blue Tide his senior year. Baggs signed with EGC last season, where he played in seven games and scored 20 points.
In addition to receiving Felder as a transfer, EGC recently completed its third recruiting class. Among the recruits is former Bradwell Institute basketball player Jalen Watson. Bailey said the 6-foot-5, 205 pounder  is just scratching the surface of his potential after playing two years of organized basketball. Watson averaged seven points and seven rebounds a game as a senior at Bradwell.
 “We are very excited about what Jalen will bring to our program”, assistant coach Leroy Jordan said. “He has added eight pounds of muscle during summer school and has been a sponge during individual workouts.”