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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
A caller on a recent Wednesday episode of "Sports Talk" had a question about former Illinois basketball players still playing professionally and whether we, as in the N-G, would have a similar update to their careers that we do with the former Illini football players in the NFL.
Why not? (Even if there's quite a few more leagues to deal with).
More than two dozen former Illinois basketball standouts, spanning several eras of Illini hoops, are still playing professionally:
Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Windy City Bulls
Bezhanishvili didn't stay in Europe long. After playing in France and Spain during the 2024-25 season and a one-game stint in Cyprus in September, the former Illinois forward returned to the G League. Bezhanishvili previously played for the Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets), College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta Hawks) and Iowa Wolves (Minnesota Timberwolves) from 2021-24.
Kofi Cockburn, Hiroshima Dragonflies
Cockburn is back in Japan after playing the past two seasons in South Korea. The 7-footer started his career in Japan in 2022-23 playing for Niigata Albirex in the B.League's third division and is now in the first division with the Fireflies. Cockburn's averaging 17.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists through 13 games.
Andre Curbelo, Ironi Ness Ziona
Curbelo moved from Puerto Rico (where he played last season after getting dismissed from Southern Mississippi) to Israel to continue his pro career. The 6-foot guard averaged 13.8 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals in four Israel BSL Winner Cup games
Dain Dainja, Sioux Falls Skyforce
Dainja ran with the Miami Heat in NBA Summer League and stayed with the organization to start his professional career. They Skyforce open their season today on the road against the Motor City Cruise.
Marcus Domask, Fraport Skyliners
Domask spent a significant part of his offseason in Champaign. Partially to utilize all Ubben Basketball Complex has to offer — like Adam Fletcher — but also to rehab a knee injury. An injury that has persisted and kept him off the court in his second season with the Skyliners. Domask put up 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season in German's Basketball Bundesliga after leaving the G League.
Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls
A quadriceps injury has sidelined Dosunmu following the best start to a season he's had in now his fifth in the NBA. In the five games before he was injured, Dosunmu averaged 16.2 points, 3.2 assists and three rebounds off the bench.
Andres Feliz, Real Madrid
Feliz has started his second season with Real Madrid, fifth season playing in Liga ACB (Spain's top division) and sixth total playing in Spain. In 11 total games — EuroLeague, ACB and ACB SuperCup — the 6-2 guard is averaging 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes per game.
Trent Frazier, Zenit
Could Frazier be a Zenit lifer? The former Illinois guard started his professional career in Serbia before a midseason move to the Russian club in St. Petersburg where he's played ever since. Now in his fourth season with Zenit, Frazier is averaging 12 points, four assists and 2.2 rebounds in six VTB United League games.
Luke Goode, South Bay Lakers
Goode will be joined by plenty of familiar faces for college basketball fans when he debuts with the Lakers' G League team. That includes fellow former Illini Tevian Jones in addition to Drew Timme (Gonzaga), Nick Smith (Arkansas) and R.J. Davis (North Carolina).
Jacob Grandison, Boulazac Basket Dordogne
Grandison made his debut in France's top league in September and had 11 points, six rebounds and two assists in a 94-76 LNB Élite victory against Saint Quentin. The former Illini played nine late-season games last season for PAOK BC in the Greek Basketball League.
Quincy Guerrier, Raptors 905
This will be year two for Guerrier with Toronto's G League team. He put up 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 40 games for Raptors 905 last season and then basically skipped the offseason to play for the Montreal Alliance in the Canadian Elite Basketball League over the summer. Guerrier averaged 16.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for his hometown team.
Jermaine Hamlin, SK Cherkasy Monkeys
Playing in Ukraine seems ... dicey ... but that's where Hamlin landed after previously playing in Finland and Iceland to start his professional career. The 6-10 forward has played in nine games so far for Cherkasy (located southeast of Kyiv) and is averaging six points and 4.7 rebounds.
Justin Harmon, Salt Lake City Stars
Harmon made his professional debut last November for the Utah Jazz G League affiliate and will be back in Salt Lake this season. The 6-4 guard played in 32 total games last season — 30 regular season, two playoff — and averaged 3.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Coleman Hawkins, Grand Rapids Gold
Hawkins played for the Golden State Warriors during NBA Summer League but didn't get as much opportunity as he would have liked to showcase his game on a too-big roster. The Denver Nuggets offered another chance, and Hawkins will start his professional career in Grand Rapids this month.
Malcolm Hill, Delaware Blue Coats
Hill's G League experience has been primarily with the Birmingham Squadron (New Orleans) and Windy City Bulls (Chicago), which has included time spent on both NBA rosters during his career. The No. 3 scorer in program history will get a fresh start with the Blue Coats later this month after landing with the Philadelphia 76ers organization.
Kasparas Jakucionis, Miami Heat
A groin injury has kept Jakucionis from making his NBA debut, and he remains "day to day" to return. The Heat have started the season 4-3 with Davion Mitchell at the point with Jakucionis (injury) and Terry Rosier (arrested by the FBI) unavailable.
Tevian Jones, South Bay Lakers
Jones will be back in the G League this season on his third different organization after spending the 2024-25 season with the Grand Rapids Gold. Jones averaged 14.7 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Gold and then promptly moved on to the CEBL where he played for the Winnipeg Sea Bears from May through early July and finished the season with the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
Samba Kane, Sol Girones Bisbal Basquet
Kane is back in basketball and playing in Spain's third division after apparently not playing during the 2024-25 season. The 7-footer out of Senegal debuted as. a pro in 2023-24 in Denmark and is now putting up 3.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Sol Girones.
R.J. Melendez, Mexico City Capitanes
Melendez started his professional career with Capitanes de Arecibo — his hometown team in Puerto Rico — following the end of his senior season at Mississippi State. He put up 10.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and will play next in the G League later this month with Mexico City where he'll team up with, among others, Northwestern's Boo Buie.
Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos
Nunn is in his third season with Panathinaikos in the GBL after winning EuroLeague and GBL titles with the club in 2023-24 and earning EuroLeague MVP honors in 2024-25. That success secured him a three-year extension worth €13.5 million, which made him the highest paid player in EuroLeague history at the time. Nunn picked up right where he left off and is averaging 18.2 points, 3.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds in eight EuroLeague games.
Brandon Paul, Fuerza Regia
Paul's professional career is in its second decade and includes a new stop this season among his globetrotting résumé. The former Illinois guard immediately followed up a 32-game season spent playing for two teams in France's top division by moving on to Mexico's Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. The 34-year-old Paul has averted 11.4 points, two assists and two rebounds across 32 games so far for Fuerza Regia.
Omar Payne, Peristeri BC
Payne moved up to the top league in Greece after playing well in Finland last season in his first as a pro. The 6-10 forward had his best performances in four FIBA Europe Cup games, averaging 10.3 points, 4.3 blocks and four rebounds.
Zacharie Perrin, Veolia Towers Hamburg
It was a brief Illinois career for Perrin. Just 2 minutes played with one foul and no other statistics in a Jan. 19, 2023 loss to Indiana. The he left the Illini to return home to France. That's where he played the past two seasons before moving on to Germany's BBL this season. In 12 total games between BBL, BBL Cup and EuroCup action, Perrin is averaging 11.8 points.
Alfonso Plummer, BAXI Manresa
Plummer split the 2024-25 season playing in Puerto Rico and Germany and is now in Spain's top league. Plummer's travels through the basketball world since he left Illinois haven't changed one notable aspect of his game. He's still a lights out shooter and made 10 of 20 three-pointers in three games for Manresa in Liga Endesa action in October.
Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors
Podziemski has been a part-time starter for the Warriors in the early going this season and is on track for another solid season in the league if his current averages hold. The 6-4 guard is putting up a career high 12.6 points per game as a 48/37/72 shooter while also averaging 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals.
Will Riley, Washington Wizards
Playing time this season was always going to come at a premium for Riley given the number of more experienced wings on the Washington roster like, at his position, Khris Middleton, Bilal Coulibaly, Corey Kispert and Cam Whitmore. Riley has averaged just 7.3 minutes per game and is averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds.
Terrence Shannon Jr., Minnesota Timberwolves
Nickeil Alexander-Walker moving on to the Atlanta Hawks in the offseason hasn't opened the door quite as wide as expected for Shannon to take on a bigger role with the Timberwolves. He's averaging 3.9 points in 16.4 minutes per game exclusively coming off the bench behind Anthony Edwards, who is back from injury, and Donte DiVincenzo.
Jamar Smith, Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia
The Peoria native is the oldest of the former Illini still playing professionally. Smith, who finished his college career at Southern Indiana, is in his third season with Reggio Emilia in Italy's top league. The 38-year-old Smith has played in 11 games across Serie A, Basketball Champions League and FIBA Europe Cup action this fall. He was at his best in the latter, averaging 11.5 points on 46/54/100 shooting.
Mark Smith, Ratiopharm Ulm
Smith is back in Germany's top division, where he started his professional career, after playing last season in Japan. The 6-4 guard averaged 13.7 points, 3.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds in six EuroCup games for Ulm.