Illinois Basketball: Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu declares for NBA Draft

The Illinois basketball team received some bad news on Wednesday night.

In a post on his Twitter account, Ayo Dosunmu announced that he will declare for the NBA Draft. I was thinking this news was going to come but wasn’t quite sure when. But the news has finally dropped.

Ayo came into the Illinois program as one of the best recruits in the history of Illinois basketball. He was the No. 32 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 3 combo guard in the nation. Brad Underwood and the Illini were able to snag Ayo from Morgan Park High School, and this helped build the Illinois program into what we saw this past season.

Statistically, the first year for Ayo in Champaign went well. He averaged 13.8 points, 4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Despite his great numbers, the Illini struggled with only 12 wins the entire campaign. Underwood got Ayo some help this past season, though.

As a sophomore, Ayo flourished with some help mainly in the form of Kofi Cockburn. He finished this past season averaging 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. His incredible play and clutch moments had Illinois back in the NCAA tournament, but the Coronavirus changed everything. Ayo never got a chance to play in the postseason with the Illini.

Now Ayo is heading to the NBA. He isn’t hiring an agent right now, but it sure does feel like we have seen the last of this talented guard wearing the Orange and Blue. He was a legend while with the program, and I fully expect him to continue being great at the next level.

I think I speak for every Illini fan when I say, thank you, Ayo. Thank you for taking a chance on a program that was struggling. Thank you for staying in-state. Thank you for the blood, sweat and tears. It wasn’t a long ride, but it was a memorable one. You are a legend.