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Illinois reportedly without 3 key guards for season-opener vs. Jackson State
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Illinois will reportedly be seriously short-handed during Tuesday night’s season-opener against Jackson State.
Kofi Cockburn, the Illini All-American center, is serving a 3-game suspension from the NCAA. Beyond him, the 11th-ranked Illini are dealing with some injuries in their backcourt. 247Sports’ Jeremy Werner reported they will be without guards Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, and Austin Hutcherson.
Official: Curbelo (concussion protocol), Austin Hutcherson and Trent Frazer also are in street clothes. With Kofi Cockburn already out due to NCAA suspension, #illini are going to be very short-handed tonight.
All are "day to day"
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) November 10, 2021
Curbelo is reportedly in concussion protocol. He played 21.5 minutes a night off the bench last season, appearing in all 31 games and averaging 9.1 points and 4.2 assists.
Frazier, who Werner reported is dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in the team’s final exhibition game, started every game a season ago. In 34 minutes a night, he averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and a pair of 3s.
Hutcherson reportedly has a tailbone injury. He’ll wait a little longer to make a highly-anticipated debut for the Illini. A transfer addition in 2019, the 6-foot-6 guard sat out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer restrictions and then redshirted in 2020-21 because of a back injury.
Illinois tips off against Jackson State at 8 p.m. ET.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.