NCAA March Madness 06

Electronic Arts announced today that Raymond Felton, point guard for the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Champion, North Carolina Tar Heels, will serve as cover athlete and spokesman for NCAA March Madness 06, scheduled to be released this fall under the EA SPORTS brand.
Featuring an even deeper playbook that covers both ends of the court, NCAA March Madness 06 delivers the ultimate strategic basketball experience. Players can dominate rivals with an authentic brand of defense and push the ball on offense with an enhanced Floor General Playcalling system that features more sets than ever before. With the all-new EA SPORTS Lockdown Stick, defense creates offense by allowing players to pressure the ball, force turnovers and harass opponents on the court.

"Joining the EA SPORTS team is a great way to cap off my college career," Felton said. "Growing up I played EA SPORTS games all the time and to now be the spokesman for NCAA March Madness 06 is incredible."

Felton, 20, played three seasons at North Carolina and helped lead the Tar Heels to a 33-4 record in 2004-05 and the school's fourth NCAA national championship. The 6-foot-1 point guard was named the 2005 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard Award winner. The award recognizes the best point guard in all of college basketball, with candidates considered from all three NCAA Divisions. Felton was also a 2004-05 First-Team All-ACC selection, and he helped direct a UNC team that led the nation in scoring.

"This year's game is all about forcing turnovers and pushing the ball up the floor to create fast break offense," said ESPN's Dick Vitale, one of the voices of NCAA March Madness 06. "There was no player in college basketball last year who could get the ball up the court faster and use defense to create offense better than Raymond Felton. Raymond is one of my favorite point guards of all time. He is creative and innovative with the rock in his hands. He makes basketball music and is the perfect cover athlete for NCAA March Madness 06. His leadership and basketball skills played a vital role in North Carolina cutting the nets down and winning the National Championship."

NCAA March Madness 06 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C., and will be available on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from Microsoft, this fall.