After a three-hour practice, Illinois freshman guards Andre Curbelo and Adam Miller need to cool off. The two will hop in Miller’s car and grab a bite to eat.

On those drives, the two don’t always talk about basketball. Rather, they listen to music. Sometimes, they’ll listen to some of Miller’s favorite Chicago rappers.

Curbelo will get the aux and play some Puerto Rican music. Miller doesn’t quite know what the lyrics mean, but he’ll vibe to the music anyway.

Whether they like it or not, Curbelo and Miller are linked to each other in Champaign. The freshman guards are the first pair of top 50 guards Illinois has brought in since ranking websites existed. The new teammates and roommates have started to build a connection.

“It’s like having a brother,” Miller said. “When you get in trouble you have somebody right there to help you. When I need something, he’s got me. I’m glad to have somebody with me and not be in this journey alone.”

While Curbelo and Miller are talented, they come to Illinois alongside a competitive backcourt. They spend their practices battling each other, as well as last year’s starting guards Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier. But once they step off the court, the two become good friends again. Miller, a native of Peoria, understands Curbelo is far from his native home of Puerto Rico, so he’s constantly looking out for him.

“I take him in because I know he’s away from home and away from family, so I let him know, ‘I’m here for you,’” Miller said. “Every day I make it my initiative to be like, ‘You wanna get some Chipotle? You wanna get some Chick-fil-A?’”

Around the freshmen, Miller is essential in day-to-day life. He takes pride in checking in on all the first-year players. Before morning lifts, he’ll go to the doors of Coleman Hawkins and Brandon Lieb and make sure they are up and ready to go. If someone needs to borrow a car, Miller says he has no problem lending it out to a teammate.

Curbelo and Miller’s chemistry off the court has translated to the practice facility. After a few months of workouts together, Curbelo has already learned Miller’s tendencies.

“I think he’s such a great shooter that my ability to drive, play with screens and look for shooters. I think me and him are going to play a big role on the team,” Curbelo said. “Everyone’s going to have their eyes on Ayo (Dosunmu) and Kofi (Cockburn) and all those older guys, (so) I think me and him could do really big things.”

To Curbelo, it doesn’t matter if they are called “Curbelo and Miller” or “Miller and Curbelo.” For now, his focus lies on the road ahead in the season and finding success with his newfound friend.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Curbelo said. “All I’m thinking about is that first game and how we’re going to approach that game, how are we going to get better and how we can win a national championship.”

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