Men's Basketball Signs Former Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year
6/12/2023 1:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â Southern Miss men's basketball head coach Jay Ladner has announced the signing of Andre Curbelo, a St. John's transfer and former Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year at Illinois.Â
A 6-foot-1 guard, Curbelo comes to Southern Miss after playing in 26 games for St. John's last season, including 16 starts for the 18-15 Red Storm. He averaged 9.6 points per game and grabbed 52 steals. Curbelo shot .424 from the floor and connected on 10 of his 34 three-point attempts. The Puerto Rican native scored a season-high 23 points against Syracuse in 40 minutes of action.Â
Other milestones at St. John's included a season-high eight rebounds against LIU, seven assists at Seton Hall and five steals at Georgetown.Â
Prior to his time in Queen's, Curbelo played two seasons in the Big Ten at Illinois. In 2021-22, he played in 19 games with four starts for the Illini. Curbelo averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 assists per game, while also grabbing 3.1 boards per outing. He logged 11 points and eight rebounds at Marquette (Nov. 15) and scored 12 points and dished out five assists against Cincinnati (Nov. 22). Curbelo was named a number of prestigious watch lists before the season, including The Wooden Award, The Naismith Trophy, The Bob Cousy Award and the Lute Olson Award.
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Curbelo's biggest splash came during his freshman campaign at Illinois when he was tabbed Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and a Big Ten All-Freshman Team member. He finished fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. The talented guard ranked second on the team and sixth in the Big Ten with 4.2 assists per outing. He shot .498 from the field and .728 from the charity stripe. Curbelo netted a season-high 19 points and dished out five assists at Ohio State (March 6), while tallying 12 points and seven rebounds in the Big Ten Tournament against Iowa (March 13). Curbelo gained valuable NCAA Tournament experience, tallying eight points and five rebounds in the opener against Drexel (March 19) and had nine points and seven assists in the Second Round (March 21).
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Curbelo was a four-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran. The Vega Baja, Puerto Rico native was ranked No. 44 in the nation by ESPN, No. 47 by 247Sports and No. 38 by Rivals. He has extensive experience on the international circuit, averaging 11.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds for Puerto Rico at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup. He helped lead Puerto Rico to a bronze medal at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup where he averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 assists
Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now at SouthernMissTickets.com, or by calling 1-800-844-TICK or visiting the Pat Ferlise Center during normal business hours.
A 6-foot-1 guard, Curbelo comes to Southern Miss after playing in 26 games for St. John's last season, including 16 starts for the 18-15 Red Storm. He averaged 9.6 points per game and grabbed 52 steals. Curbelo shot .424 from the floor and connected on 10 of his 34 three-point attempts. The Puerto Rican native scored a season-high 23 points against Syracuse in 40 minutes of action.Â
Other milestones at St. John's included a season-high eight rebounds against LIU, seven assists at Seton Hall and five steals at Georgetown.Â
Prior to his time in Queen's, Curbelo played two seasons in the Big Ten at Illinois. In 2021-22, he played in 19 games with four starts for the Illini. Curbelo averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 assists per game, while also grabbing 3.1 boards per outing. He logged 11 points and eight rebounds at Marquette (Nov. 15) and scored 12 points and dished out five assists against Cincinnati (Nov. 22). Curbelo was named a number of prestigious watch lists before the season, including The Wooden Award, The Naismith Trophy, The Bob Cousy Award and the Lute Olson Award.
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Curbelo's biggest splash came during his freshman campaign at Illinois when he was tabbed Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and a Big Ten All-Freshman Team member. He finished fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest. The talented guard ranked second on the team and sixth in the Big Ten with 4.2 assists per outing. He shot .498 from the field and .728 from the charity stripe. Curbelo netted a season-high 19 points and dished out five assists at Ohio State (March 6), while tallying 12 points and seven rebounds in the Big Ten Tournament against Iowa (March 13). Curbelo gained valuable NCAA Tournament experience, tallying eight points and five rebounds in the opener against Drexel (March 19) and had nine points and seven assists in the Second Round (March 21).
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Curbelo was a four-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran. The Vega Baja, Puerto Rico native was ranked No. 44 in the nation by ESPN, No. 47 by 247Sports and No. 38 by Rivals. He has extensive experience on the international circuit, averaging 11.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds for Puerto Rico at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup. He helped lead Puerto Rico to a bronze medal at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup where he averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 assists
Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are on sale now at SouthernMissTickets.com, or by calling 1-800-844-TICK or visiting the Pat Ferlise Center during normal business hours.
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