Four-Star 2020 PG Andre Curbelo Commits to Illinois
For the fourth consecutive recruiting class under head coach Brad Underwood, Illinois has received a verbal commitment from a four-star player.
Andre Curbelo, a 6-foot point guard who plays his high school basketball in the Long Island district of New York, verbally committed to the Illini men’s basketball program Friday morning. Curbelo, who is ranked No. 55 overall and the ninth-best point guard in the 2020 recruiting class according to 247Sports.com, is originally from Puerto Rico and marks the third player to commit to the Illini from a Caribbean island territory (Dominican Republic native Andre Feliz in 2018 and Jamaican native Kofi Cockburn in 2019) since Underwood hired former Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua to his staff in 2017.
Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran High School guard Andre Curbelo (11) shoots a layup against Central Catholic (Mass.) High School at Springfield College.
Gregory J. Fisher/USA TODAY Sports
Antigua, who is known throughout college basketball as one of the nation’s top recruiters, was the head coach at South Florida from 2015-17. He was also the head coach of the Dominican Republic national basketball team from 2013 to 2015.
ILLINI FOUR-STAR SIGNEES/COMMITMENTS IN BRAD UNDERWOOD'S TENURE
| <strong>NAME</strong> | <strong>RECRUITING CLASS</strong> | <strong>POSITION</strong> | <strong>HOME CITY/TERRITORY</strong> |
|---|---|---|---|
Andre Curbelo | 2020 | PG | Puerto Rico/Long Island, NY |
Kofi Cockburn | 2019 | C | Jamaica/Harlem, NY |
Ayo Dosunmu | 2018 | PG | Chicago, IL |
Tevian Jones | 2018 | SG/SF | Culver City, CA |
Trent Frazier | 2017 | G | West Palm Beach, FL |
Mark Smith (TRANSFERRED TO MISSOURI) | 2017 | G | Edwardsville, IL |
Curbelo took his official visit to the Illinois campus and was at Memorial Stadium on the weekend the Illini football team pulled off the 24-23 win over then-No. 6 Wisconsin, arguably the biggest upset in the 2019 college football season. Curbelo joins three-star California forward Coleman Hawkins, who committed to Illinois in September, to the Illini’s 2020 recruiting class. The Illini staff are still actively recruiting four-star guard Adam Miller from Morgan Park H.S. in Chicago via Peoria (Ill.) Manual High School to complete its 2020 class. Miller, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard visited Illinois in September and has offers from Arizona, Arizona State and Kansas.
Curbelo, who chose the Illini over scholarship offers from Miami (Fla.), Oregon, Florida, Kansas and Louisville, is expected to get the opportunity to take over the point guard duties next year when it is expected sophomore Ayo Dosunmu declares for the NBA draft.