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Good Morning, Illini Nation: Player profiles â Andre Curbelo | Sports
Welcome to âGood Morning, Illini Nation,â your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. Heâll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwoodâs team:
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The 2020-21 Illinois basketball season is set to start on Nov. 25. And that opener against North Carolina A&T is now actually official.Â
Leading up to the start of the season, weâll shine a spotlight on each Illinois player. Today? We continue one of the two rather hyped freshmen:
Andre Curbelo
The word âunicornâ is typically only used in basketball circles to describe a 7-footer with guard skills. One-time Illinois target Chet Holmgren (maybe you saw him on ESPN on Thursday night outdueling Emoni Bates) basically epitomizes the idea of a âunicorn.â
Iâm here to make the argument that Curbelo is a different kind of unicorn, but a unicorn all the same. In the age of combo guards and point guards that certainly emphasize the âpointâ part of their designation, Curbelo is a bit of a throwback. A top 50 national prospect and a pass-first point guard rolled into one.
The Illinois coaching staffâs constructive criticism with Curbelo has leaned more toward âLook for your own shot sometimesâ than, all credit to Patrick Ewing, âHave you ever shot that shot?!âÂ
Curbeloâs first instinct is to make his teammates better. Thatâs not a bad thing. Especially on a team that boasts scorers like Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier and Adam Miller (more on him tomorrow) and the biggest lob target in the Big Ten in Kofi Cockburn.Â
Underwood, of course, isnât lacking for options in the backcourt. Still, Curbelo is going to play. Itâs easy to envision the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Puerto Rican coming off the bench (most likely) and leading Illinoisâ second unit. Yes, heâs a freshman. No, the dropoff to the bench probably wonât be that steep.Â
Curbelo has both a maturity to his bearing and a maturity to his game. Odds are, heâll find a pathway to success in his debut season. He might not stuff the stat sheet on a nightly basis, but he could still make an impact.
