Illinois Basketball: A profile of Illini G Andre Curbelo

Get to know Andre Curbelo ahead of his freshman season with Illinois basketball, including his excitement toward the program.

The Illini are reloading for another 20-win season. This offseason, they added a Puerto Rican point guard who should make the rest of the Big Ten Conference stand on its toes.

His name is Andre Curbelo. At 6-foot-tall, he enters Champaign as the No. 3 player from Brooklyn, New York. Curbelo is ranked No. 41 in the ESPN Top 100 for the Class of 2020 and hails from Long Island Lutheran High School in Long Island.

Despite a shortened season, Curbelo led his squad to a 22-3 campaign that included a nationally-televised tilt against freshman sensation, Bronny James, the son of LeBron James himself.

Curbelo led the way and propelled LuHi to an 86-74 win.

Curbelo adds to a list of top-60 commitments that Brad Underwood has landed since his time in Champaign. He hopes to bring a proficient passing and scoring attack, as he averaged 16.5 points, 7 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game during his time with the Puerto Rican U15 national team.

Curbelo also joins Prolific Prep’s Coleman Hawkins and Morgan Park’s Adam Miller, rounding out three major pieces to help benefit Illinois’ future success.

After choosing Illinois, Curbelo was overcome with emotion, as he chose the Big Ten staple over the ACC’s Miami Hurricanes, among others.

“The coaching staff, the way their fans are with the players. Everything was just great. I felt the support from the fans and the coaching staff, so that’s what kind of got me going to Illinois,” Curbelo told WCIA in February.

Underwood has made New York a primary landing spot for recruits since his arrival three short years ago, including the likes of Kofi Cockburn, who declared for the now-canceled 2020 NBA Draft in April, and Syracuse-bound Alan Griffin.

Illini fans should have plenty to look forward to this fall. Curbelo is another piece of the puzzle toward finishing the turnaround of the program.