There is a lot of buzz surrounding what the Chicago Bulls will get out of the former star junior Illinois Fighting Illini point guard Ayo Dosunmu during his rookie campaign. The Bulls’ front office got great value out of picking Dosunmu with the 38th selection in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.
Dosunmu was the only draft pick that the Bulls made this year, with the team’s lottery pick landing with the Orlando Magic following the trade deadline day deal that landed star center Nikola Vucevic in Chicago. He is one of a number of younger Bulls guards in the rotation for head coach Billy Donovan heading into next season.
And Dosunmu got to do something that previous Bulls rookies were able to do in years past (i.e. Coby White and Patrick Williams).
Dosunmu got to toss out the first pitch for the Chicago White Sox in the rivalry matchup against the Chicago Cubs on the afternoon of Aug. 29. The White Sox are the other professional sports team that Jerry Reinsdorf owns along with the Bulls.
Chicago Bulls’ rookie Ayo Dosunmu tossed out the first pitch again for the White Sox
New Bulls guard and Chicago native Ayo Dosunmu throwing out the first pitch on the South Side today.
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) August 29, 2021
Ayo Dosunmu throws the ceremonial first pitch: pic.twitter.com/PlvdXmgUJ4
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) August 29, 2021
Dosunmu is a true hometown kid through and through. The Chicago native attended the University of Illinois for college, where he stood out for three seasons. The Morgan Park High School product was a consensus AP First-Team All-American last season for the Fighting Illini, and he’s a two-time All-Big Ten Team selection.
The drafting of Dosunmu really excited Bulls fans considering the only pick that Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley held was in the second round at No. 38 overall.
It’s cool to get to see him toss out the first pitch, and it looked like he had a good throw in this rivalry meeting between the White Sox and Cubs.
Moreover, this was not the first time that Dosunmu tossed out the first pitch at a White Sox game. He did that back in 2019 when he had just concluded his true freshman campaign with the Fighting Illini.
Both of these tosses for the White Sox first pitch looked good for Dosunmu. He’s got a good arm by these indications.
Dosunmu and the Bulls finished up the five-game Las Vegas NBA Summer League slate earlier this month with a record of 2-3. The Bulls are set to open up Training Camp on Sep. 28 and tip-off the preseason slate at home at the United Center against the Cleveland Cavaliers.