Chicago Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu improved markedly as a facilitator at Illinois

The Chicago Bulls got a good one with the 38th overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. With the lone pick in this draft class, the Bulls selected the former star junior Illinois Fighting Illini point guard Ayo Dosunmu. This Chicago native and 6-foot-5 and 200-pound 21-year-old guard looks like a really solid pick for the Bulls, considering all the front office had to work with in this draft class was a second-round pick.

Dosunmu was a stud for the Fighting Illini the past few seasons. He spent three seasons at Illinois as the team’s starting point guard the entire way. That led him to garner AP All-American consensus honors last season, one Big Ten Tournament MVP, and two All-Big Ten Team selections, during his time at Illinois.

There wasn’t any one particular part of Dosunmu’s game that stood out during his time at Illinois. By the time his junior campaign arrived, Dosunmu was one of the very best and most well-rounded point guards in all of college hoops. That was evident last season when he averaged 20.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.2 blocks.

And Dosunmu shot 48.8 percent from the field, 39.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.

But one area to note that Dosunmu improved upon in a big way during his three years at Illinois was with his facilitating ability. Dosunmu had some turnover issues during his first two seasons in college. That came to a climax when he averaged 3.3 assists per game and 2.7 turnovers as a sophomore.

Chicago Bulls look to have a good find from the 2021 NBA Draft in Ayo Dosunmu

While his turnover numbers didn’t necessarily decrease last season, his assist-to-turnover ratio surely did. Dosunmu averaged the aforementioned 5.3 assists per game last season, compared to 3.3 turnovers. His turnover rate stayed around the same mark it was at the prior two seasons (around 15.0 percent), but his assist rate improved to a career-best 29.2 last season.

And he only got better as the season moved along. In conference play, Dosunmu registered an assist rate north of 30 percent, and his turnover was around a 0.5 point lower than his total regular season average.

It’s also worth noting that when Dosunmu kept the turnovers to a minimum last season at Illinois, the team often did really well. In games where Dosunmu registered less than three turnovers, Illinois posted a record of 9-1. The sole loss there came to a top-five ranked Ohio State Buckeyes squad.

In the five games during the Las Vegas NBA Summer League slate, the Bulls offense largely drove off of the production that Dosunmu provided. The two wins that the Bulls pulled out in Vegas saw Dosunmu combine for 29 points, four rebounds, three assists, and five steals.

And the best performance that the Bulls had in the three losses during Summer League saw Dosunmu register a team-high 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

The assist-to-turnover ratio didn’t matter as much for Dosunmu during his stint with the Bulls in Summer League, as he was often playing at the two or as a combo guard. At least when he was healthy, second-year former Kansas Jayhawks point guard Devon Dotson often was the true floor general for the Bulls.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that there’s a lot of upside and improvement left in Dosunmu’s offensive game. He should be a nice spark plug for the Bulls as a second or third unit guard for the next few seasons at least. It was also good to see Dosunmu get a really good feel for the game in Vegas on the defensive end of the floor.

He was one of the best perimeter defensive guards for the Bulls in Vegas.

The Bulls finished up the Summer League slate last week with a record of 2-3. Next up is the start of Training Camp, which begins on Sep. 28. And then the regular season slate is set to open up on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons on the road.