CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For the past several years, Trent Frazier has proven to be a beacon of light on the court and beyond.

At Illinois, the Wellington alum and Boynton Beach native has been the floor general for one of the nation’s top college basketball programs. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior guard was recently honored by the Fighting Illini on Senior Night, which was on Thursday, Feb. 25 at home against Nebraska.

It turned out to be an 86-70 win for the No. 5-ranked team, which currently has a 14-4 record in the Big Ten Conference and 18-6 overall record.

Longtime Wellington Wolverines head coach Matthew Colin was in a group call with Frazier’s loved ones for the Fighting Illini’s Senior Night festivities.

“I thought it went very well for us being in a pandemic,” said Colin, who coached Frazier at Wellington High School from 2013 until 2017. “We had about 20 of his family and friends all on Zoom because in the Big Ten, no fans are allowed at the arenas. He was the last senior called out and they had his jersey framed and a special video from his parents, brother, sister and other family members telling him how proud they are of him. He had a big smile seeing all of use on the Zoom call.”

Frazier went on to help lead his Fighting Illini team to a memorable 16-point win over the Cornhuskers. He finished with seven points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

And on yesterday afternoon (Feb. 27), Frazier had six points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal in his team’s 74-69 win over No. 23 Wisconsin.

For his senior season to date, Frazier is averaging 10.4 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, and 2.7 assists per game.

“He went to a coach in Brad Underwood, who is a defensive guy,” Colin said on behalf of Frazier. “Obviously we do a lot of defense here. Like Coach Underwood told me, Trent was able to step right in and do the things they’re asking him to do. In the college game, there’s more. But he actually had the basis and foundation to incorporate what they’re doing [at Illinois]. He has exceeded probably many people’s expectations because not only is he doing it on the offensive end, but he also does it on the defensive end.”

Colin had more things to say about Frazier’s game at Illinois.

“He leads the team in charges,” Colin said. “He’s always guarding the other team’s best player. That makes me proud as a coach to see.”

SIDE NOTE: Frazier and the Fighting Illini have two regular season games left: Tuesday, March 2 (7 p.m. tip-off) at No. 3 Michigan (18-1) and Saturday, March 6 (4 p.m. tip-off) at No. 4 Ohio State (18-7). Both games will be televised on ESPN.

Following that will be the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness.

PHOTO CREDITS: Matthew Colin and Illinois Men’s Basketball