By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

With an abundance of talented guards on his roster, Fighting Illini men's basketball coach Brad Underwood may be tempted to utilize hockey's unique concept of line changes, shuttling in players to match-up the needs of any particular moment in time.

Led by pre-season All-American Ayo Dosunmu, Underwood's roster includes a bevy of capable backcourt candidates who possess a variety of physical attributes and skills. Components of size, quickness, speed, toughness, experience, shooting ability and defensive tenacity provide Underwood with a Rubik Cube's worth of combinations. Perhaps at no other time in University of Illinois basketball history has a coach had so many options.

"You have no idea how great a problem it is to have really good guards," Underwood said. "There are unbelievable battles every single day (in practice). That has been the joy of preseason so far, watching those guys go at it. It's so competitive."

Two of Underwood's most intriguing choices for playing time come in the form of highly recruited freshmen Adam Miller and Andre Curbelo. The rookies' resumes are as impressive as any in recent memory.

Miller, Peoria born and bred, played his final three years of prep ball at Chicago's Morgan Park High School. He earned Illinois Mr. Basketball honors this past season.

Curbelo, a product of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, starred the last four seasons at Long Island, New York's Lutheran High School. A third-team All-American, he was considered to be the top-ranked player in the Empire State by 247Sports.

The freshman roommates have become good friends and mutually admire the other's game.

Says Miller about Curbelo, "He lives up to the hype. Everything they say about him is true. His passing game is just as good as they say it is. He makes great reads. His jump shot is improving and he's getting stronger."

Curbelo is just as complimentary about Miller.

"I've learned a lot from him," Curbelo said. "He's a great shooter, a hard-working kid. With him being such a great shooter and my ability to drive and play with the screens and look for my shooters and my bigs, I think me and him are going to play a big role on the team this year."

Thanks to strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher, each player's physical frame is rapidly evolving. Miller tipped the scales at 178 when he arrived and now weighs 195.

"I'm always working to get stronger," Miller said. "I've always loved the weight room. It's always been good vibes. It comes second nature to me because I like being in there. Great things happen in there just like great things happen in the gym. Putting in the effort in the weight room has really changed my body. I'm not done yet."

Nineteen-year-old Curbelo, who checked in at 159 pounds when he got to Champaign-Urbana and now weighs 180, admits that he used to be "a really, really lazy guy back home".

"Puerto Ricans aren't super strong and tall or athletic," he said. "My body is going to be defined in a little bit. The numbers are there and I'm really happy where I'm at right now. Being a little less strong than the older guys, I'm now able to bump into them with my chest. I'm in love with the weight room nowadays. For me, gaining weight is going to be really key because of how physical the Big Ten is."

Both Illini freshmen say they've learned a lot since formal practices began on October 14^th.

"It's been really hard," Curbelo said. "I'm literally exhausted having to guard pros—Ayo's going to be a pro, Trent's going to be a pro—and that's what it's going to be like when we face our opponents. Obviously, I'm a freshman, so I'm trying to learn. As a point guard, I've got to be very observative. I'm trying to learn the little things. I'm think I'm doing pretty well, but I've got to continue to work hard and keep learning and listening."

Curbelo says he's not only been a pupil of the head coach, but also of his son, Tyler Underwood.

"Me and Tyler have a different relationship than just as teammates," he said. "He's like a brother to me and he's like a coach to me. He's always looking out for me. Same thing with Giorgi (Bezhanishvili) and Kofi (Cockburn). But my relationship with Tyler is different. I'm always talking with him when I'm not on a drill or getting reps, what I'm doing wrong or what I can do better. Dos (Dosumnu) and Kofi and Da'Monte (Williams) and Trent (Frazier) and Giorgi have done a great job as well. They're taking us by the hand and walking us along so that we can be the best freshmen that we can be."

Unlike Curbelo, Miller has one teammate he's known for years, fellow Peorian Da'Monte Williams.

"Da'Monte, that's my big brother," Miller said. "We work hard and we feed off each other. We know how each other works. We're going to push each other. The bond brothers have is 'I've got your back and you've got mine.' He's going to tell me little secrets that nobody knows. He's going to teach me. It's good to have him helping me out. I always give thanks to Da'Monte. Without him, I wouldn't be as successful as I am today."

Miller also is a big fan of his former Morgan Park teammate.

"Playing with Ayo and seeing his growth and his skill, his all-around awareness, it's motivated me to get there and get there now," he said.

Including center Brandon Lieb and Coleman Hawkins, Brad Underwood has been impressed by all of his freshmen.

"On the court, they're probably further ahead than any group of freshmen ever have been," he said. "They're great listeners and great learners. Where they're at in terms of learning and understanding is way ahead of any group we've had."

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Fighting Illini basketball has produced some iconic guard units over the last 100 years. Here are this year's Illini guard group with some of the most memorable in its history:

2020-21:  Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, Da'Monte Williams, Jacob Grandison, Austin Hutcherson, Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller 
2019-20:  Ayo Dosunmu, Trent Frazier, Andres Feliz and Da'Monte Williams
2004-05 (Big Ten champs, Final Four):  Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head and Rich McBride
2001-02 (Big Ten champs):  Frank Williams, Cory Bradford, Sean Harrington and Luther Head
1997-98 (Big Ten champs):  Matt Heldman, Kevin Turner, Sergio McClain and Arias Davis
1988-89 (Final Four):  Nick Anderson, Stephen Bardo, Kendall Gill, Larry Smith and P.J. Bowman
1983-84 (Big Ten champs):  Bruce Douglas, Doug Altenberger, Quinn Richardson and Tony Wysinger
1982-83:  Derek Harper, Bruce Douglas, Doug Altenberger and Kevin Bontemps
1962-63 (Big Ten champs):  Tal Brody, Bill Edwards and Bill Small
1951-52 (Big Ten champs, Final Four):  Irv Bemoras, Jim Bredar and Rod Fletcher
1948-49 (Big Ten champs, Final Four):  Van Anderson, Bill Erickson, Dick Foley, Jim Marks and Don Sunderlage
1941-42 (Big Ten champs):  Bill Hocking, Andy Phillip, Jack Smiley and Gene Vance