Illinois basketball: The ceiling and floor for Ayo Dosunmu in the NBA
By Jalen Wilson
Ayo Dosunmu, likely, won’t be returning to the Illinois basketball program next year, as he declared for the NBA Draft last Wednesday.
Ayo had a tremendous sophomore season for the Illini. He put up averages of 16.6 points, 3.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He shot 48-percent from the field and 29-percent from three-point range.
On multiple occasions, Ayo hit clutch shots. He came up huge against Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa. He was also a big factor as to why this Illinois basketball program had one of their most successful seasons in a while.
I think Ayo is 100-percent committed to the draft. So I’m here to give my opinion on what I think his ceiling and floor will be in the NBA.
Ceiling: Dennis Schroder
Dennis Schroder is currently the sixth-man for Oklahoma City Thunder. I think Schroder is Ayo’s ceiling because I believe he and Ayo have a similar style of play.
Schroder is a player who is good at attacking the basket and likes to score from the mid-range. Those are two things Ayo excels at. Ayo showed last season that he is good at attacking the basket and scoring from Mid-range as he shot 54-percent on two-pointers as a sophomore.
Other similarities I see between the two are being a below-average three-point shooter and being a good defender. I think Ayo’s ceiling can be a player who can be effective when on the fast break and be a good mid-range and inside scorer in the NBA.
Floor: Dejounte Murray
Dejounte Murray is the starting point guard for the San Antonio Spurs. Murray is a very high floor as he has become one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA but isn’t as effective on offense. That’s what I can picture Ayo becoming in the NBA. He can be a player who can become a really good defender, even if he isn’t that effective on offense.