Illinois Basketball: Floor and ceiling for Ayo Dosunmu in 2020 NBA Draft

From a historical perspective, this upcoming season for the Illinois basketball team might be the most important we have ever seen.

There are many reasons why the 2019-2020 campaign is so important to the Illini program. Let’s first start off with the coaching staff. Brad Underwood is entering year three and he, finally, has his guys in place to make a run to the NCAA tournament. If a postseason berth isn’t in store for the Orange and Blue, I believe a lot of fans, at best, are seriously going to question what is going on with this coaching staff.

Another reason this upcoming season is so important is for the future of Illinois guard, Ayo Dosunmu. Ayo picked Illinois over everyone else. This kid had blue bloods, teams closer to him and other Big Ten powerhouses wanting him to come play for their respective program. But he picked the Illini. He took a gamble on this Illinois coaching staff. This season will determine if that gamble is going to pay off for this young NBA hopeful.

Throughout the 2018-2019 campaign, NBA mock drafts consistently had Ayo in the bottom of the first round or somewhere in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Those projections were about right. Ayo started to develop his game and get more familiar with working alongside the other Illini talent. He had every chance to declare for the NBA Draft after the season concluded as well. I wouldn’t have blamed him one bit. Illinois didn’t perform well, and he would have been picked in one of the two rounds.

Ayo didn’t declare, though. Instead, he took another gamble. He decided to come back to Champaign for one last ride. He is coming back and trying to change the course of a once legendary program. As a fan, we get one more season of watching this talented player suit up for the Orange and Blue.

With all of the good feelings of Ayo coming back to Illinois, there are the thoughts of his floor and ceiling this season as well. Like previously mentioned, this is another gamble for Ayo. He could have gone to the NBA, probably started in the G-League and made some money and then tried to work his way up to an NBA roster. But he decided to come back to Illinois, risk the potential of an injury playing a sport at a level that isn’t making him money and potentially having his stock drop if the Illini fall of a cliff this season.

On the flip side of the negative, there are positives of coming back as well. Ayo can come back and take Illinois to the NCAA tournament and cement himself as a legend. But, more importantly, he could raise his draft stock to heights most can’t even imagine. What is the floor and ceiling for Ayo, though?

Let’s start off with the floor. I have seen a few mock drafts for the 2020 NBA Draft. In most of them, Ayo is projected somewhere between No. 25 and No. 6. That is a pretty wide margin. Let’s say Illinois doesn’t live up to the potential they clearly have this season. The Illini struggling to get 15 or 16 wins. Even with a bad season by the team, I still think the floor for Ayo is pretty high. I think he would still get picked in the early second round. That is the worst-case scenario for Ayo this upcoming season.

Now let’s talk about the ceiling. The potential for Illinois to win a lot of games this upcoming season is there. I haven’t dived into the schedule, but let’s say the Illini win 21 games in the regular season and a few in the Big Ten Tournament. They get into the NCAA tournament as a 5-7 seed or somewhere in there. Getting Ayo onto the big stage in the Big Dance is only going to help his draft stock. If Illinois succeeds, that means Ayo is succeeding. There are some pretty good players in the 2020 NBA Draft, though. I would put Ayo’s ceiling somewhere in the top eight.

Illinois has a special player on their hands with Ayo. This kid risked so much to come back and play for the Orange and Blue. I can’t wait to see him suit up one more season for the Illini. He has a chance to be a high pick in the 2020 NBA Draft but, if he isn’t, the floor is still pretty high.