Illinois Basketball: Illini season wrap-up for Ayo Dosunmu

Ayo Dosunmu’s 2020-21 season was arguably his best while being part of the Illinois basketball program.

Here is the season wrap-up for the star Illini guard.

Expectations

Before the start of the 2020-21 season, I was expecting Ayo to do big things. In his sophomore campaign, he averaged 16.8 points. 3.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. On top of these stats at the end of his sophomore season, he was named to an All-Big Ten team. He also was named as an AP All-American.

So, I was expecting great things from Ayo before this season. I was expecting him to average around 18 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game in the 2020-21 season. I also had him making an All-Big Ten team and being named as an AP All-American at the end of the season.

Reality

Ayo exceeded my expectations. He did a great job at being one of the leaders of this team. When watching Illinois this season, you could see the impact Ayo had on the team and the fanbase

Ayo finished the 2020-21 season averaging 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He had shooting splits of 48.8-percent from the field, 38-percent from three-point range, and 78-percent from the free-throw line. He was named as a first-team AP All-American and to the first-team All-Big Ten. Ayo also won the Big Ten Tournament MVP and the Bob Cousy Award.

There were some moments this season that most Illinois basketball fans won’t forget. Ayo recorded two triple-doubles, and he hit clutch shots against Northwestern, Ohio State, and Nebraska. Ayo helped lead Illinois to a Big Ten conference championship and back to the NCAA tournament.

Future

On Tuesday, Ayo announced that he was entering the 2021 NBA Draft and signing an agent. I see Ayo being a mid-to-late first-round pick, and I see him have a long and successful NBA career.