Height: 6 Feet 5 Inches
Weight: 200 Pounds
Wingspan: 6 Feet 9 Inches
League: NCAA
Draft Age: 21.42
Draft Projection: Late First Round
A product of Chicago’s Morgan Park High school and a five-star high school recruit in the graduating class of 2018, Ayo Dosunmu’s decision to return for his junior season was questionable to start, but paid off in so many ways for the Chicago native. Not only did he bring Illinois basketball back to relevancy, but he also likely earned himself a first-round NBA contract.
Dosunmu has always been an incredibly talented guard with great size, speed, length, and athleticism, though his basketball skills have been a work in progress. He has always had a knack for using his size and athleticism to get to the bucket and finish inside, but his basketball IQ and outside shot were questionable.
This was the case in his first two seasons with the Illini, as well, though in his third season he made great strides as a playmaker and outside shooter.
Defensively, Dosunmu is not going to be someone you can rely on to get stops, as in spite of his athleticism he has struggled on that end. However, his well-rounded offensive game should be enough for some teams to overlook his lackluster defense. The hope will be that Dosunmu can develop into an elite-level bench talent in the NBA, and this is not out of the question if his offensive efficiency can carry over to the next level.
Though an experienced college player who put up monster numbers in his most recent season, Dosunmu isn’t exactly a safe pick. Teams certainly would have liked for him to show more consistency in his first two seasons with Illinois before his explosion in usage. However, if his efficiency doesn’t take too big of a hit at the next level, he could be someone who can run an NBA offense at a high level off of the bench.