Calillini
Now appearing in Tampa
I hope you are right about “best for the program”. Me, not so much.
Andre Curbelo in the transfer portal
- Status
Electric at his best. Beyond frustrating at his worst.
All said, I am personally bummed to lose such an entertaining player. I hope he has the ability to work through his perceived off-the-court troubles at his next destination. I wish the kid nothing but the best. Belo will always be one of those 'what if's...' at Illinois. An incredible talent.
As others have said, this is the new world of CBB. The portal giveth, the portal taketh away. This year, it sounds like the Illini may be a bit more taketh away than most programs.
All said, I am personally bummed to lose such an entertaining player. I hope he has the ability to work through his perceived off-the-court troubles at his next destination. I wish the kid nothing but the best. Belo will always be one of those 'what if's...' at Illinois. An incredible talent.
As others have said, this is the new world of CBB. The portal giveth, the portal taketh away. This year, it sounds like the Illini may be a bit more taketh away than most programs.
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Sad to see Belo move on. Was an extremely tough year for him and wish it would have worked out like he/we all hoped. Will cherish the memories of his freshman season forever. Wish him the best of luck and hope we don't ever have to play against him so I can always root for him to succeed.
And man is it gonna giveth!
Calillini
Now appearing in Tampa
When I was a kid growing up in southern Illinois, I was a Cardinals baseball fan. The players were the same year after year. The loyalty to the team was mostly a function of endearment and familiarity with the players.
As I grew older and moved to other states and free agency took over the game, I found my loyalty slipping.
I hope the same thing is not happening to college basketball.
It is hard being loyal to an institution when the members are in a revolving door.
As I grew older and moved to other states and free agency took over the game, I found my loyalty slipping.
I hope the same thing is not happening to college basketball.
It is hard being loyal to an institution when the members are in a revolving door.
the national
- the Front Range
For whatever reason (which there are a number), this season was such a grind for everyone - players, coaches and the fans. Everyone I think felt a huge wave of relief when we won the B1G championship this year. I’m really happy Belo was a part of that. I hope he can glean from his time here what his potential upside is and make huge steps toward his goal of landing in the NBA. He’s got so many gifts. Im happy we were a part of his journey.
It isn’t the end of the world losing AC, but for those that think “oh well” the rankings are updated on the transfer portal and AC is listed as number 2.
Again, we will be fine, but this is a bummer to lose him.
Again, we will be fine, but this is a bummer to lose him.
217sports
- Springfield
Stats don’t provide the entire story. I think we have seen enough of the whole picture.
Too late
Wish this kid nothing but the best. I hope he kills it at his next destination.
Sad to see Curbelo go, but I'm not sure the staff should have done anything differently this year (based on what I'm aware of). They seemed to do right by him through the injury and were very supportive publicly. I'm curious about the half time at Houston since no one has elaborated what the disagreement was about, but at least this is a clean break for all parties.
Dee and Deron's class was the first one I watched from freshman to senior year, and Dee's senior year I remember thinking something similar. "Am I going to care as much now that Dee is gone?".
Over the years, I've found myself asking this question when other players depart- D-Mac, BP3, Malcolm, Ayo. But every time, I'm reminded how much I really love the O&B. And I'm willing to bet it'll be the same for you. Why? Just read the name of this board.
I like the optimism, but what does it take to make up for losing Curbelo? I don’t mean the concussed, unconditioned player we saw this year. I mean the guy we all think he can be….
What's done is done. However, I hope someday the exact reason or reasons for leaving comes out. I'm only speculating but I think the alleged halftime locker room conversation with the coaches during the Houston game and subsequent benching was the catalyst. Anyway, I was a fan of his motor and tremendous passing ability and hoped he would stay.
Belo staying is better then Belo not staying. Period. Now we are in real bind for the PG position. We can only hope we land someone really good soon or that will be a glaring deficiency for the 2022-23 season. He had his issues with valuing the ball at times but he also had a ton of experience in pressure situations. We will need a portal transfer of equal experience and talent. Not guaranteed.
Lovie might have said “sometimes divorce is good”.
Curbelo clearly enjoys and wants to continue playing his style of basketball, which is high variance, high risk, exciting play. BU certainly wants more consistent results than there were this season. This feels like a logical place for their paths to diverge.
Andre produced some of the most incredible, flashy basketball we’ve seen from Illinois the past two years. Hopefully he finds a new team that fits his style.
Illinois was always going to lose huge pieces of the team after this season. Hopefully they’re prepared to fill another spot.
Curbelo clearly enjoys and wants to continue playing his style of basketball, which is high variance, high risk, exciting play. BU certainly wants more consistent results than there were this season. This feels like a logical place for their paths to diverge.
Andre produced some of the most incredible, flashy basketball we’ve seen from Illinois the past two years. Hopefully he finds a new team that fits his style.
Illinois was always going to lose huge pieces of the team after this season. Hopefully they’re prepared to fill another spot.
We're going to be just fine. It had been mentioned that we will be pursuing a veteran ball handler in the portal. While I do not expect that player to have the talent of Curbelo, I don't think we necessarily need that with the other pieces coming in. Just need said player to be experienced and steady with a half-way decent jump shot. Said player+Skyy+Epps and we will be very solid at PG IMO.
My thoughts exactly. The freshmen are coming and there is the portal. I'm trying to remain optimistic.
I realized after this season that I need to treat college basketball players almost like free agents after each season. They are just going to come and go. I think this basically adds two months of recruiting efforts for all coaches.
I get what your saying and love Curbelo and his time here. I also hope he finds success at a new school. I will cheer for him wherever he lands. I just think, come next year, we will be longer and more athletic. We will thrive if we can run, and next year we will! Like you said, color me optimistic!
DB11Headband
- Chicago Burbs
You won’t find that.
- Status