The most exciting young gun to grace the orange and blue uniform since the likes of Deron Williams has decided to declare for the NBA draft. Ayo Dosunmu made the announcement via Twitter in a video discussing with Illinois fan groups, touching on his love for the ILL-INI, and his reasons for moving on. While Dosunmu didn’t hire an agent, the option to return to Illinois if not drafted still is open, but with the talks of the G-League increasing interest odds are we have seen the last of Dosunmu in State Farm Center.
While he could have left last year, “The Closer” decided he had unfinished business at Illinois. He gave us Illini fans moments and memeries we will never forget, with a handful of buzzer beaters, some extremely clutch shots for his age, and virtaully qualifying Illinois for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Cockburn made his decision earlier in April to declare for the draft, which was very unexpected for how raw the freshman still is. The reigning Big Ten Rookie of the Year, Cockburn stepped into State Farm Center and owned the paint.
Illinois brings in highly touted recruits in Adam Miller, Andre Curbelo, and Coleman Hawkins, all of which should have a hand in molding the Illini into their next chapter, with or without Ayo and Kofi.
Miller seems to be the best out of the three incoming recruits and joins the Fighting Illini after finishing his high school career at Morgan Park High School, the same school that Dosunmu came from. Miller was recently just named Mr. Basketball in Illinois after a stellar senior season.
While the future is still oh so bright for Illinois, I can’t help but wonder what could have been with Ayo and Kofi. The two brought back winning to the team that has lost for so long. In a perfect world both somehow find their way back to Champaign in October, but regardless both have impressed and improved this program tremendously and I wish the two the best of luck in their future travels.
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