On Thursday, the University of Illinois retired the No. 11 of Ayo Dosunmu after three spectacular seasons with the Fighting Illini and the 21-year-old had quite an audience in attendance to witness the achievement.
Dosunmu finished 12th on the all-time career scoring list at Illinois with 1,504 points. He became the first player in program history to be voted a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and was the first player since 2006 to have his jersey retired.
The Chicago native went on to become the 38th pick by the Bulls and has emerged as a key player for head coach Billy Donovan. With Dosunmu set to be honored, Bulls teammate DeMar DeRozan made the five-hour trek with him from Chicago to Champaign to take in the event.
The decision to go, as DeRozan told the Illini Inquirer, was a no-brainer.
It’s big. That’s my teammate. We spend the majority of our days together. We go to work together. This moment is something special. It’s more of an intimate type of thing that you just want to experience.
I had the honor to get my jersey retired in college (at USC). I know what that was like to have friends and close people that I respect and appreciate be there, it meant a lot. I just know what that moment means for him. … I didn’t care how far it was. I just wanted to come support my teammate.
Dosunmu, in 31 games, is averaging 6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists with the Bulls this season. He often injects the Bulls with instant energy and effort off of the bench and has proven to be a strong two-way player during his time on the court.
Legend. Congrats @AyoDos_11! pic.twitter.com/4frN9l4mSt
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 7, 2022
Dosunmu has previously earned high praise from DeRozan with the 13-year veteran commending him for what he brings to the court. Having played at Illinois, and being from Chicago, Dosunmu has emerged as a fan favorite, something DeRozan believes helps energize the team.
The emergence of Dosunmu with the Bulls likely isn’t all that surprising to those that watched him at Illinois. He has seemingly carried that same skillset with him to the NBA and that was rewarded on Thursday in a big way.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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