The Illinois basketball team took a huge, yet expected, hit to their roster on Wednesday night.
It has been a long time since Illinois has had to worry about losing players early to the NBA Draft. This is a feeling that hasn’t been felt too often since the teams of the mid-2000s. But, for the second time this offseason, an Illini departed the program for The Association.
Ayo Dosunmu took to Twitter on Wednesday night to announce that he has decided to declare for the NBA Draft. Like Kofi Cockburn, Ayo is not hiring an agent yet because of everything that is going on with the Coronavirus, but it does sound like this is the end for him and the Orange and Blue.
The two years Ayo was with the Illinois program were amazing. While the team struggled in year one, he still put up 13.8 points, 4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Last season was incredible, though. While Ayo was averaging 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, the Illinois basketball team was winning games and making the NCAA tournament. All of the success came to a screeching halt due to the epidemic. Now it seems like the great run could be over before it even feels like it started.
If this is the end of the road for Ayo, I wish him nothing but the best. I will be rooting for him every step of the way. But where does Illinois go from here? The main question is; what will the roster look like and who is going to starter? I have an idea of what I think it will look like.
Here is the projected Illini lineup without Ayo Dosunmu.