reshman Ayo Dosunmu doesn’t shy away from carrying Illini hopes and dreams

CHAMPAIGN – Ayo Dosunmu’s father was driving him to another basketball practice when he turned and asked in a serious tone: “What are your goals for the next 3 years? How do you see your basketball career taking shape?”

It was not unusual for Quam Dosunmu to delve into big-picture talks with his children, urging them to think beyond that day’s practice or classroom lessons. There was a blueprint in the Dosunmu household, and on that day, Ayo began to seriously sketch his basketball path.

He answered his dad
and saved those goals in his iCloud, his digital safe where he stores his loftiest dreams as reminders. At the top of the plan: Earn a scholarship from a high-major college program.

“Ever since that day, it was, ‘Let’s go harder,’” said Dosunmu, who played at Morgan Park High School on Chicago’s South Side. “‘Let’s push a little harder.’”

Since childhood, Dosunmu hasn’t shrunk from high standards. So it figures he’s not rattled by a role others have hoisted onto the freshman: Savior of Illinois Basketball.

Just four games into his college career, Dosunmu has taken over games and won over fans.

In-state recruits have toyed with Illinois fans’ emotions for years. Heartbreak after heartbreak has come their way.

Chicago-area players such as Cliff Alexander and Jalen Brunson snubbed the Illini for out-of-state powerhouse programs. Highly touted signees such as Jereme Richmond dissolved into disasters in Champaign or jumped ship like Mark Smith, who transferred last spring after one season. Above-average players such as Brandon Paul played on below-
average teams.

Not since Dee Brown – another charismatic, supremely talented player from Chicago – arrived in 2002 from Proviso East have Illinois fans felt so justifiably convinced about a player’s potential. Dosunmu is wasting no time validating their beliefs.

It’s not just that the athletic, 6-foot-5 guard – the top-rated recruit in the state in the Class of 2018 – chose the Illini. He says he is “destined” to lead them back to prominence.

“This is what I signed up for,” Dosunmu said recently after taking an extra 20 minutes of shots after practice. “I know a lot of people would not take the route I took. A lot of people wouldn’t come play for their home state. Maybe some want to ride the boat or play certain minutes. I came to help Coach [Brad] Underwood turn the program around.”

While it has been only a few games, Dosunmu seems less like a tease and more like a promise.

He has averaged 21.5 points and shot 58.6 percent in a rout of Evansville and a close loss to Georgetown, but scored just six points in a loss to Gonzaga on Monday. He had 13 points in Tuesday’s loss to Iowa State.

He defends ferociously. His hands are as quick as a blackjack dealer’s when making a steal. He sees teammates on the court as if he has been playing with them for years, not a few games.

He’s a slasher to the rim, but makes it look smooth.

“That’s why I call him ‘Silk,’” said Deon Thomas, the school’s career scoring leader and analyst on Illini radio broadcasts.

“#11 looks good out there,” Brown, now an assistant coach at UIC, tweeted during Tuesday’s Georgetown game.

Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing, the former Knicks great, recruited Dosunmu.
After last week's game against the Illini he said: "You have to give a compliment where a compliment is due. He's a very good player, and he's going to continue to get better."

What impressed Underwood the most was that Dosunmu, 18, shouldered the blame for the loss when it was plainly clear he was the most outstanding player.

“He doesn’t have anything to hang his head about,” Underwood said. “The thing that excites me about Ayo is his growth. Look what he’s doing already.”

Dosunmu doesn’t consider this “already.”

“This is not something I just woke up and said I wanted to do,” he said. “My dad, my whole life, prepared me for this.”

To understand where Dosunmu is now, go back to when he was 3 and living near Country Club Hills. When he and his brother Kube, who is 17 months older, played biddy basketball, children inevitably ran with the ball, the referees shrugging off their blatant travels.

Not the Dosunmu boys.

“My dad said, ‘No, you have to dribble,’” Ayo said. “He would say, ‘Give the ball to the other team.’ Everyone’s out here running with the ball, and I have to dribble.”

The focus on basketball and family intensified through the years. Quam said he taught Kube a few basketball skills in the family basement one evening, then returned to see 3-year-old Ayo executing the drills perfectly.

“I got tears in my eyes,” Quam said. “I knew I had something special.”

No sleepovers. No hanging out at the mall. No class trip to Six Flags Great America in seventh grade. No movie nights.

Ayo was up as early as 5:30 to run with his father and brother. Quam, wife Jamarra and their four children ate dinner together every night. No gaming systems except on the weekends, and if he earned a C, not even then.

He took extra shots. He watched “SportsCenter” and Googled players from the 1980s and ’90s to learn more about them and how to apply their skills to his game.

“When he was 3 and 4, I wasn’t saying he’s going to be in the NBA,” Quam said. “It was: ‘We’re going to learn the proper technique. We’re going to learn to play the right way.’”

Did he ever whine about missing out on the usual frivolities of teenage life?

“I love basketball,” Ayo said.

After one massive snowstorm, his parents asked him to shovel, but he cleared only the backyard court to practice jumpers in boots. He headed outside sometimes at midnight to take extra shots.

His competitiveness multiplied in high school, starting out at Westinghouse as a freshman and then at Morgan Park.

His father resigned after 30 years as a UPS manager to devote time to seeing Ayo’s talent come to fruition. He served as an assistant coach during Ayo’s freshman and senior seasons of high school.

“I’m going to be at every game,” Quam said he told his son.

———

Dosunmu had a 60-point game last December in the high-profile Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and led Morgan Park to two IHSA Class 3A titles, setting the 3A state-final record with 28 points in 2018. He was invited to the Jordan Brand Classic and Iverson Classic national all-star games and averaged 9.5 points to help Team USA win the gold medal in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship in June.

Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin would stick Dosunmu on opponents’ best offensive players. His competitiveness was rare.

“Win or lose, he would work on his game,” Irvin said. “Doing extra sprints and suicides, lifting weights. He just had the extra drive.”

As his profile skyrocketed and he received more than 30 scholarship offers and earned a five-star rating from recruiting websites, his family took an insular approach to recruiting, guarding against outside influences.

“We [were] going to make a decision as a family,” Dosunmu said. “Everyone gave input. It’s about trust from the people I knew my whole life.”

He whittled it to Wake Forest and Illinois before announcing his decision in October 2017 at the Jordan Brand store downtown, where Kanye West’s “Homecoming” played.

“Illinois just checked all the boxes,” Dosunmu said.

Playing close to home, where his family can easily attend games, was important. Underwood’s tough-love style and fast-paced offense also appealed.

“We had an action plan,” Quam said. “We weighed pros and cons. It was: ‘We’re going to show you all the information. You listen and read it. It’s your decision. This is your plan, son. We all work for you.’ ”

Dosunmu is still thinking big picture. He mentioned at his commitment announcement that he aimed to be a one-and-done college player, but this week he said his focus is solely on Illinois’ season. He mentions building a “brand.” Though he’s infrequently on social media, he uses the hashtag #WhyNotMe.

“Why can’t I be a leader?” he said. “Why can’t I have an impact as a freshman?”

When he selected Illinois, he responded to texts and well-wishers on social media. One message stood out. Someone he didn’t know criticized his choice and wrote that he never would win at Illinois.

“That motivated me,” he said. “This is what I was destined for.”

The goals saved in his iCloud now include making the Big Ten’s all-freshman team and guiding the Illini to the NCAA Tournament, a destination they haven’t reached in five seasons.

Before heading to a post-practice breakfast, he said he doesn’t worry about his legacy. He just works on it, knowing it’s intrinsically linked to Illinois’ success.

“Now,” Dosunmu said, “it’s ‘Why not us?’ ”