Ayo Dosunmu: From Illini basketball star to Chicago Bulls rookie
CHICAGO (BVM) — His name is Quamdeen Ayo Dosunmu, but most call him Ayo. Dosunmu was a star point guard that played for the University of Illinois basketball team.
Known for his charismatic attitude and exceptional skill on the court, Dosunmu quickly built momentum and talked across the Big 10 Conference. When he started his freshman year, he was driven from his state championship he won as a senior at Morgan Park High School in Chicago.
The built up attention not only caught the eyes of students at the Big 10 schools, but Dosunmu also caught the eyes of different teams in the NBA, allowing him to be a player selected in the NBA Draft following his junior year. During the first round of the draft, Dosunmu was not picked, but heard his name called in the second round where he was the 38th pick to be a point guard for the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were excited to have Dosunmu on their team, where they described him as a versatile player that puts points on the board, rebounds the ball and is high in assisting his teammates. The Bulls mentioned how adaptability and versatility is crucial on their team because they need to be able to train their players to improve in every skill, not just a skill they have raw talent in.
With the way the young guard has been described by the Bulls team and the attention he received with the students at Illinois, most were flabbergasted to know that he was a 38th pick. Dosunmu is a multifaceted player, and though his adaptability is a great asset, he has more discipline to be learned. He can be loose with the ball which may lead to ignorant turnovers. However, Dosunmu definitely does offer more advantages than disadvantages. Even during his final season playing as an Illini, he averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big 10 Conference Tournament. There will always be room for improvement, but Dosunmu feels he is where he needs to be right now.
When asked how he felt about being picked, the new Bulls guard said his level up was an unreal feeling when talking to Chicago media. Though being the 38th pick was not his ideal choice, Dosunmu felt that the pick from the Chicago Bulls was a blessing in disguise being that he grew up in Chicago. He feels that he has much to prove because of all the teams that did not recognize his talents early, but he is grateful that his family has the opportunity to watch him grow and play in the city he grew up in. With the Bulls, Dosunmu plans to be one of the greatest and receive all the training the Bulls are willing to offer.
