Illinois Basketball: Trent Frazier is officially a professional basketball player

The Illinois basketball team has another player who is entering the professional ranks.

Some of the best Illini players in the history of the program have gone to a different country to play their post-college basketball. A good example is Brian Randle. He played eight seasons of basketball in a different country, and now he is an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns.

Illinois basketball has a familiar face who is entering the professional ranks in a different country. On Friday night, it was announced that Trent Frazier had signed on with FMP Meridian of the Adriatic League in Europe. This was a two-year deal with the financials not disclosed.

It is exciting to get another former Illini into the professional ranks. He now joins quite a few Illinois players such as Ayo Dosunmu and Andres Feliz, just to name a few of his former teammates.

FMP Meridian is getting a playmaker in former Illinois basketball guard Trent Frazier.

This was a great signing by FMP Meridian because Frazier can do everything you would want on a basketball court.

Four out of the five seasons he was with Illinois, Frazier averaged over 10 points per game. He hit his career highs with 4.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game this past season as well. Frazier isn’t just about the offensive side of the court either. He was one of the best defenders in the country, and he averaged over 1.2 steals per game in four out of the five seasons in college.

It will be interesting to see how much Frazier impacts FMP Meridian in year one. This was a 14-12 group last season, which was good enough to barely sneak into the playoffs. They were swept in the first round by 19-7 Buducnost.

Adding a player like Frazier should help the team tremendously. There are three areas I believe Frazier can help this team. The first area is defense. I see Frazier coming in and being a defensive stopper for this team. The second area is distributing the basketball. FMP Meridian ranked No. 9 in the ABA League with 16.6 assists per game. That number should rise.

The final area I see Frazier making the biggest impact is in three-point shooting. As a team, FMP Meridian shot just 31.8% from three-point range. In three out of the five seasons Frazier was in college, he hit at least 36.2% of his three-point shots. He was a career 35.1% three-point shooter for the Illini as well.

I am extremely happy for Frazier and what the future holds for the talented guard. He was a fan favorite while at Illinois, and that isn’t going to change just because he has left. We will all be watching his journey through the basketball ranks.