A year ago Illinois landed a Class of 2019 top 100 out-of-state big man in Kofi Cockburn.
This year coach Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini will add another out-of-state top 100 prospect in table-setting point guard Andre Curbelo.
Curbelo, a 6-0 senior originally from Puerto Rico, plays at Long Island Lutheran in Glen Head, New York. He’s a consensus top 60 recruit, ranked No. 45 by Rivals, No. 54 by ESPN.com and No. 55 by 247sports.
In the end, Curbelo, who had over a dozen high-major offers, chose Illinois over Miami and Oregon on Friday. His final five in September also included Indiana and St. John’s.
With the graduation of Andres Feliz and the likely departure of Ayo Dosunmu to the NBA following this season, Illinois will have a large chunk of minutes to fill next season. Curbelo, a smooth and true point guard, represented Team Puerto Rico in the FIBA 17U World Cup last year and was New York Newsday Player of the Year.
As a junior he led Long Island Lutheran to its eighth Federation Tournament of Champions boys basketball title. Curbelo was named tournament MVP as he put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in the championship game. On the season he averaged 16.2 points, 8.1 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 steals a game.
Illinois landed a September commitment from Coleman Hawkins, a three-star recruit out of Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., and remains in the hunt for Morgan Park star guard Adam Miller.
