CHAMPAIGN — Ayo Dosunmu’s schedule since the end of the Illinois men’s basketball season has been fairly consistent.
Particularly once he was able to finish his academic obligations for the school year.
It’s a single-minded focus for the 21-year-old Dosunmu.
Put in the work.
Get selected during next month’s NBA draft.
Start the next chapter of his basketball career.
Dosunmu’s day starts early enough to make it to an 8 a.m. workout. It’s the first of three or four for the day. That two-hour morning session includes work on finishing off the dribble and pick-and-roll reads.
Then comes breakfast ahead of a noon lifting session. An hour in the weight room is followed by at least one shooting workout in the afternoon. Maybe two.
The rest of Dosunmu’s day is filled with watching film — “a lot” the former Illinois guard said — and making sure he’s eating right and getting enough recovery so he can do it all again the next day.
“I’ve always wanted to become a pro,” Dosunmu told The News-Gazette on Thursday night. “When you become a pro, this is a job. Waking up at 8 and ending at 5, that’s my job. I’ve come a long way as a player having more time to perfect my craft and having more time to really dive into my craft and not have to worry about class or distractions. That’s definitely helped me become a better player. I think my game has evolved tremendously.”
Dosunmu is enjoying the shift in his approach to basketball. The Chicago native always put in the work, but the ability to focus 100 percent on his game has been a fun change.
“That’s my joy,” he said. “To be able to wake up and just eat, sleep and drink basketball. Just being able to get a taste of what it’s like being a pro, I love everything about it. I’m going to continue to get better, continue to grow, continue to stay humble and continue to keep putting God first.”
Next up for Dosunmu is the NBA draft combine starting Monday in Chicago. The pre-draft evaluation event, which will include team interviews, five-on-five games, drills, measurements and medicals, will run all week at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis Chicago.
Dosunmu is one of at least 69 players invited. A few more — potentially including Illinois teammate Kofi Cockburn — are set to be added after the G League Elite Camp, also currently underway in Chicago.
“I’m looking forward to talking to teams in person,” Dosunmu said. “Last year, because of COVID, I was only able to talk to teams via Zoom. I’m interested to see teams in person, talk to people face-to-face. I’m planning to, whatever I participate in, go 100 percent and just get ready for the next step in the journey to get drafted.”
Dosunmu also declared for the NBA draft last spring. He ultimately opted to return to Illinois for his junior season, with the COVID-19 pandemic first creating uncertainty about and then limiting the pre-draft process.
To actually get in a room with NBA executives? To get on the court in front of scouts, coaches and front office personnel?
“So beneficial,” Dosunmu said. “When teams see me in person and see how my body is — see how I’ve been lifting — and see my jump shot in person and see how I’ve improved and see how big I look in person and how I can move and how I play, I think that will take me a long way.”
Most NBA draft projections have Dosunmu as a late first-round pick or possibly an early second-round section. Right now, it’s more of the former. There’s no clear consensus, but multiple mock drafts have the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard landing in Los Angeles — either to the Lakers at No. 22 or the Clippers at No. 25.
Not that Dosunmu is paying too much attention.
“I talk to my agent, but me, personally, I don’t look at it,” he said. “I know what type of player I am. I know when teams see me in person and see my hard work and dedication and see what I’m about and how I’m going to continue to get better as a nowhere-near-finished product I think I’ll be fine.”
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