Illinois Basketball: How the return of Ayo Dosunmu helps the Illini

The Illinois basketball team received huge news Friday night after Ayo Dosunmu announced he was returning for his junior season.

This past spring, on April 15th, Ayo Dosunmu announced he was entering the NBA Draft. But on July 31st, he posted on Twitter that he was coming back to Illinois for his third year. This return means a lot for Illinois going into the 2020-21 season. Ayo announcing his return helps the Illini tremendously.

Ayo’s return gives Brad Underwood a lot of flexibility with lineups. Flexibility is good because it means Underwood can put multiple players at point guard, shooting guard and small forward. Ayo is a player who can play two out of three of those positions. Illinois struggled at times last season when it came to players playing out of position.

Tent Frazier, Da’Monte Williams, Adam Miller, Jacob Grandison, and Austin Hutchinson will all be available alongside Ayo to play the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions.

Ayo’s return gives Illinois one of the most, if not the most, loaded backcourts in the country. The backcourt will consist of Ayo, Williams, Frazier, Curbelo, and Miller. This may be the best backcourt on paper in Illinois history. They were all four-star recruits.

The return of Ayo also means that Underwood won’t have to rely on Miller or Curbelo to take on a big scoring load. Ayo was Illinois’ best scorer last season averaging 16.6 points per game. He should be able to put up similar numbers this upcoming season as well.

The news on Friday was huge for the Illinois basketball program. Ayo brings the ability to have flexible lineups and a reliable scorer. This is one of the most talented Illini teams ever, and I can’t wait to see how they perform on the court.