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Illinois Basketball: Review of the Illini point guard outlook

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 07: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini brings the ball up court during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center on February 7, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - FEBRUARY 07: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini brings the ball up court during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at State Farm Center on February 7, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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LADERA RANCH, CA – JULY 19: NY Jayhawks guard Andre Curbelo dribbles up the court during the adidas Gauntlet Finale on July 19, 2018 at the Ladera Sports Center in Ladera Ranch, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Future

The future of the point guard position is a little more uncertain as of right now. While Illinois is talent-rich for the upcoming season, that will all change after the campaign concludes.

Ayo Dosunmu is going to have a tremendous junior campaign filled with various accolades, but he is finished at Illinois after this upcoming season. If it wasn’t for COVID-19 that swept through the world, I am not sure we would have Ayo back at Illinois. The talented guard declared for the NBA Draft after this past season but pulled his name out at the last second.

With Ayo most likely departing after his junior year, that would leave Andre Curbelo to man the starting job as a sophomore.

I couldn’t have asked for a better replacement for Ayo. While likely not the scorer that Ayo is on the court, Curbelo isn’t too far off from what Ayo brings to the table. I actually love Curbelo’s handles more than I do Ayo’s handles. I think Curbelo is more of a true point guard than Ayo as well.

So, I am pretty comfortable with what we will have starting at the No. 1 guard spot once Ayo leaves the program. But the backup role scares me a little bit.

As of right now, Illinois doesn’t have anyone on the roster who would man the backup No. 1 guard spot. There isn’t a point guard on the roster who I would feel comfortable enough to bring the ball up the court, let alone take over a game if need be.

If I had to take a step back and look at what we have on the roster, I would say the backup to Curbelo in the future is probably not on the team yet. The potential is out there, though, and that is what we will discuss on the next slide.

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