Exclusive: Illinois G Ayo Dosunmu will declare for the NBA Draft
College Basketball expert Jon Rothstein spoke with Illinois Second-Team All-Big Ten G Ayo Dosunmu about his decision to make the jump to the NBA after a stellar sophomore season in Champaign.
Video Transcript
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JON ROTHSTEIN: Jon Rothstein here for Yahoo Sports, joined by Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu, one of the top players in the Big Ten last season. Ayo, what has life been like during this coronavirus pandemic for a player like yourself?
AYO DOSUNMU: It's been great. Not be able to really get into a gym, I just been lifting a lot of weights, do a lot of push ups and things of that nature to help me get stronger. A lot of core work. It's also been great for me, spending time with my family, just doing normally things I wouldn't normally do because of the busy season. But it's been cool so I'm just making the best out of the situation.
JON ROTHSTEIN: You separate yourself as one of the elite guards in college basketball last season.
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Illinois was on the verge of being a team that nobody wanted to play in the NCAA tournament. What were the biggest differences you found in your game in your sophomore year versus your freshman season?
AYO DOSUNMU: Oh, for my sophomore year I read the game better. Overall, I was just a better player. I got stronger, much stronger, and just having better IQ out there. But we didn't get to finish the season, but I feel like we're on the verge of really exploding into like, a national championship contending team. We had all the pieces. The way we were playing, we were hot. We just beat up [INAUDIBLE] Iowa team.
And we were going to the Big Ten tournament with tons of confidence, but we didn't get to finish the season. But I just felt like, if we would have finished the season, we would have definitely made it far.
JON ROTHSTEIN: Well, you didn't get to finish last season with Illinois, but the million dollar question right now is, where will Ayo Dosunmu be playing basketball next year? What are your plans?
AYO DOSUNMU: My plan to declare for the 2020 draft. After talking to my family, yeah, I plan to declare for the draft.
JON ROTHSTEIN: Will you be retaining your eligibility with the chance that you can return to school next season?
AYO DOSUNMU: I have not hired an agent. With so much stuff in the air, really don't know what's going on. So I mean, if that answers your question, I haven't hired an agent yet. But I will be declaring for the draft. When everything clears up, I'll know more about it, but I really don't know too much that situation.
JON ROTHSTEIN: Well, Ayo, best of luck with the draft process. Stay safe, and, again, congratulations on an incredible season this past year at Illinois.
AYO DOSUNMU: Thank you. Appreciate you, sir. That's Illinois guard, Ayo Dosunmu, declaring for the 2020 NBA draft. I'm Jon Rothstein. This is Yahoo Sports.
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