Illinois Basketball: Ayo Dosunmu has unfinished business for rest of season

Ayo Dosunmu could have been a one-and-done last year. Instead, he decided to return to Illinois for his sophomore campaign. That decision proved to be huge for Illinois Basketball.

Just ask any Big Ten team that has played Illinois within the past two seasons and they will all tell you the same thing. Ayo Dosunmu is the motor behind Illinois Basketball and the key to their resurgence this season.

Coming into Champaign as highest-rated recruits in Illinois basketball history, Dosunmu was tasked with being the one that brought the Illini back to national prominence. The former 4-star and Top-35 guard out of Morgan Park High School in Chicago, could have went a number of different places. Only one school stood out to him the most though, Illinois.

After many down years and failing to make the NCAA Tournament every year since 2013, the Illini were in need of someone of Dosunmu’s caliber. Second-year head coach Brad Underwood knew that he needed a playmaker next to Trent Frazier and he got that in Ayo.

Paired with fellow freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Dosunmu was able to give the Illini faithful a glimpse of the future with a standout performance against #9 Michigan State. In a game where few gave the Illini a chance, Dosunmu scored 24 points and tallied two steals in route to a 79-74 win over the Spartans.

Dosunmu did more than just score though, he proved he could come through under pressure. With just under two minutes to go and the shot clock running down, Dosunmu nailed a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of Cassius Winston that put the dagger in the heart of Michigan State.

Dan Dakich, a broadcaster for ESPN who was covering the game, infamously said “This won’t end well for Illinois” just seconds before the three went up. It’s safe to say it did end well and Dosunmu proved his doubters wrong.

The season didn’t go how they hoped though and finished 12-21 (7-13). Now, Dosunmu had a big decision to make regarding his future. Would he be the one-and-done that many thought he would be, or would he return for one more year to try to put Illinois back on the map of relevant college basketball teams. Luckily for Illinois and their fans, Dosunmu chose the latter and selected a catchphrase that described his reasoning behind his decision: unfinished business.

That catchphrase could not have been more spot on. Dosunmu has led the resurgence of an Illini squad that, as of Monday, is tied for second in the Big Ten with Michigan State while only a game behind Maryland for first place. Averaging 16.4 ppg and 3.1 apg, Dosunmu has hands down been the most important piece to this Illini team this season.

In the one game without Ayo this season, following a gruesome looking leg injury on the final play against Michigan State, the Illini struggled to find offense in a double-digit loss to Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ. The injury didn’t stop Dosunmu though and in the following game at then #9 Penn State, his late floater sealed the game for the Illini.

https://twitter.com/IlliniMBB/status/1230182042383650816

Just ask Michigan, Penn State, or Wisconsin and they will tell you that Dosunmu is quite possibly the best clutch shot maker in the entire country. With his remarkable ability to finish around the rim, weave through traffic, make the right play and hit the mid-range jumper better than anyone in the country, Ayo might be the most valuable player in the Big Ten.

As far as his unfinished business goes, Illinois is on track to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in almost seven years, a rarity for such a storied program. Although many believe this season will be his last in an Illinois uniform, Dosunmu has certainly got much closer to finishing his business this season.

While everyone will be sad to see him go, Illinois fans must see the impact that Dosunmu has had on this Illinois program. He took a task that no one wanted, bringing Illinois basketball out of the cellar. He showed that a big time recruit can come to Illinois and be successful and most importantly, he has left a legacy that will be remembered for generations.

If you have not gotten a chance to see Dosunmu and the Illini play, you’re going to want to. While the Illini may not win the National Championship this season, basketball has been brought back to life in Champaign, largely due to the determination of a kid from Chicago.