Illinois Basketball: Preview of Illini depth chart for 2020-21 season

Point Guard

Starter – Trent Frazier (Sr.): 25 minutes

Frazier has been a staple on this Illinois team from the second he stepped on the court during his freshman season and I don’t see this changing for his senior campaign. Regarded by many as a “hasn’t he been there for 7 years?” kind of player, Frazier should hold onto the 1st guard spot in the Illini lineup.

While his productivity dropped this past season, Frazier is still a valuable piece of the Illinois offensive lineup and is possibly the best 3-point shooter on the team following the departure of Alan Griffin. Frazier’s mentality has shifted more to the passing aspect of the game and most of the sets ran by the Illini this past season began with him. While he may not be as productive as he once was, Frazier is still going to be the starter at this spot and will round out his senior year with an important role within the team.

Backup – Andre Curbelo (Fr.): 15 minutes

One key newcomer to the 2020-21 addition of the Fighting Illini comes in the form of Top-50 point guard Andre Curbelo. As I mentioned in a previous article about Curbelo, he is one of the biggest steals of the 2020 class and is sure to leave his mark on this team in his freshman campaign. Curbelo averaged 17.3 ppg in his senior season and displayed his exceptional passing ability on multiple occasions.

Learning the ropes of college basketball from a fellow guard in senior Trent Frazier, Curbelo is set up to be the next point guard for the Illini. While his style is a tad different than that of Frazier, Curbelo’s passing ability is sure to be a perfect piece of the puzzle in the Illini offense as he will have many shooters and scorers to pass to no matter who is on the court. Look for Curbelo to spell Frazier most often and be one of, if not the first man off the bench this season.