St. John’s has officially signed Illinois transfer Andre Curbelo, who initially committed April 15.
A local product who starred at Long Island Lutheran, Curbelo comes to Queens after two seasons at Illinois where he earned 2021 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and All Freshman-Team honors.
“We are excited to welcome Andre home and thrilled to have him join the St. John’s Basketball family,” said head coach Mike Anderson. “Andre is an electric guard with tremendous experience who adds a new dimension to our talented backcourt. He has great basketball instincts and his skill set fits our style of play perfectly. Andre’s veteran presence can be invaluable for our team moving forward.”
This past season at Illinois, Curbelo, a 6-foot-1 guard from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, averaged 7.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 19 appearances. Curbelo, who started the first four games of the 2021-22 campaign, was sidelined for nearly two months due to injury. He returned to the lineup in mid-January and came off the bench in 15 games while helping Illinois advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
Curbelo shined as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and ranked sixth in the Big Ten with 4.2 assists per game. In conference action, Curbelo finished third in the Big Ten with 4.6 assists per contest. The Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and All-Freshman Team selection helped lead Illinois to a 24-7 record, including a league-best 16 conference victories, a Big Ten Tournament Championship, and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Over the final 10 games of the season, Curbelo averaged 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. He recorded a team-high 16 points with six rebounds and five assists in the Big Ten Tournament title game victory over Ohio State.
A highly touted recruit out of Long Island Lutheran, Curbelo was a former high school teammate of Red Storm rising sophomores Rafael Pinzon and Drissa Traore. Curbelo, a consensus four-star recruit, ranked in the top-45 overall and top-10 for point guards in the Class of 2020, according to national recruiting services. A two-time Newsday All-Long Island Player of the Year, Curbelo averaged 16.7 points, 8.1 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 steals as a senior at Long Island Lutheran.
(Release via St. John’s)
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