2021 NBA Draft Profile: Ayo Dosunmu

The Indiana Pacers held their fourth draft workout on July 7th and among the invites was Illinois standout Ayo Dosunmu.

The Indiana Pacers held their fourth draft workout on July 7th at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers hosted six prospects, one of which was Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu. Could the Pacers be eyeing the guard who had a major break-out season with the Fighting Illini?

Ayo Donsunmu is a 6-5, 200-pound junior guard out of the University of Illinois. Dosunmu had an excellent junior season for the Fighting Illini as he averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, posted a PER of 23.9, and shot an effective field goal percentage of 52.6 percent. During his college career, Dosunmu earned honors such as the Big Ten All-Freshman team, two-time All-Big Ten, Big Ten Tournament MVP, and was a consensus All-American.

The first thing that stood out to me about Ayo’s game is his ability to get to the rim. Dosunmu uses his crafty, herky-jerky ball-handling ability to get himself to the rim and he also excels in the fast break as an at-the-rim finisher. His driving ability also makes him a good pick-and-roll threat in the half-court.

Dosunmu’s offensive game is a blend of the aforementioned driving ability and an array of pull-up jumpers. Ayo’s herky-jerky ball-handling also creates enough space for him to find his spot and get a good jump shot up. His pull-up jumper game was mostly from the mid-range in college and will need to be extended to the three-point line at the next level.

Quality defense is another positive trait that you’ll find in Ayo Dosunmu. He showcased his lockdown on-ball defensive ability in quite a few games last season. Ayo also has shown that he is a very smart off-ball defender as well. Combine his defensive ability and the high motor he plays with and that is a recipe for Dosunmu to be a really good defender at the next level.

Ayo Donsumu does come with his flaws and has plenty to improve on if he wants to realize his full potential at the next level. Dosumu is very right-hand dominant with his ball-handling and offensive game. He will need to develop his left hand at the next level as opposing players will look to take that away from him.

Dosumu will also have to improve his shooting mechanics at the next level. Ayo has a low release on his shot; a higher release point will be required in the prose even though he showed improvement in his 3 point shooting percentage this past season.