Bulls Select Ayo Dosunmu at №38 Overall

The defensive-minded guard could bring much-needed versatility to the Bulls' backcourt. Let’s take a closer look…

On Thursday night the Bulls selected Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu with the №38 overall pick. The Chicago-native had a decorated high school career, winning two 3A State Championships with Morgan Park, and then taking his winning ways to Champaign, Illinois.

At Illinois, Dosunmu showed steady improvement through his three seasons. More important was the fact that Dosunmu’s improvement coincides with Illini’s improvement as a team. Illinois had a 36.4% win percentage in Ayo’s freshman year, 67.7% in his sophomore year, and 77.4% in his junior season.

Of course, the Illini had great teams around Dosunmu but his NCAA accolades speak for themselves. He made multiple All-Big Ten teams throughout his collegiate career, was a consensus All-American and was the winner of the Bob Cousy Award (Best PG in the nation) in 2021.

There were plenty of great point guard prospects on the board when the Bulls made their second-round pick at №38, so the selection of Ayo Dosunmu shows that Arturas Karnisovas and the Bulls front office sees real long-term potential in the 6-foot-5 guard. Below we’ll break down his fit on both sides of the ball.

Offense

Ayo Dosunmu’s physicality and size stand out for a point guard and while he primarily used that big frame to bother guards on defense, he genuinely turned himself into a solid scorer in his junior year.

Dosunmu averaged 20.1 points per game on 56% True Shooting (factors in 2P%, 3P%, and FT%) in his last season at Illinois. His length makes him a great finisher around the basket and he is extremely active on the offensive glass for a backcourt player, averaging 1.1 offensive rebounds per game in 2021.

Per Hoop-Math.com, Ayo had the shot profile of your prototypical drive-and-kick point guard. In his junior year, the majority of his shot attempts came at the rim, where he shot 64.9%.

Dosunmu will struggle to blow past many NBA defenders without the help of a screen because he doesn’t possess elite speed for the position. This is something that showed up in the Illini’s brutal loss to Loyola (IL) in the NCAA Tournament, in which Ayo struggled mightily.

But as he showed through Illinois career, Dosunmu is adept at using screens to get enough space to fire off layup attempts from many odd and uncomfortable angles.

He is a very shifty ballhandler, using crossovers and hesitations to get his spot around 16–18 feet. Dosunmu hit 38% of his 2-point jumpers in 2021 per Hoop-Math.com. This may not seem like an impressive figure, but when you account for the crappy floor spacing and physical defenses in college basketball, it is more impressive and shows a base level of competence in that area.

Dosunmu’s massive 6-foot-10 wingspan combined with his strength also gives him the ability to bully smaller guards in the paint on occasion. His physicality makes him a prime candidate for Billy Donovan to go to for the unorthodox guard-guard pick-and-rolls to keep defenses off-balance.

The key to Ayo’s game reaching its full potential is a solid jumper. He has an unorthodox-looking shot but he made it with enough success to believe that he can certainly become an at worst, an average NBA 3-point shooter.

In his freshman season, Dosunmu shot a total of 142 3-pointers, making them at a solid 35% clip. Year 2 in Champaign saw that figure dip down to a woeful 29% from 3-point range, and then he finished it off shooting an elite 39% in his final Illini season but on a very low volume that doesn't inspire massive confidence.

Dosunmu would likely need to be able to hit open 3s to become a consistent part of Billy Donovan’s rotation as a second-round pick.

But as of now, Ayo’s length and finishing ability — two areas Coby White lacks in — fits in nicely with the Bulls' core players (LaVine, Vuevic, Williams, White are all good-to-great 3-point shooters), with it being quite easy to imagine Dosunmu drive-and-kicks leading to open Bulls 3s.

Defense

We’re going to spend a lot less time on Dosunmu’s defense section. The defensive side of the floor obviously matters tremendously, something the NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks just showcased. But we won’t spend as much time here as on his offense because simply put: there are a lot fewer concerns on this side of the ball.

Ayo Dosunmu is 6-foot-5, 194 lbs., with an aforementioned 6-foot-10 wingspan. With NBA nutritionists and training, there is reason to believe Dosunmu could bulk up even further.

The point being, Dosunmu’s defensive versatility — whether it shows up now or further down the road — is likely the prime reason Karnisovas and Marc Eversley drafted him over the likes of dynamite playmaker Sharife Cooper (listed a 6-foot-1 but likely shorter) and National Champion Jared Butler (6-foot-3). His 1.8% steal rate is big-time, a figure that indicates he should be able to generate turnovers on the defensive end in the NBA.

Dosunmu’s size and relentless motor are what make him versatile on defense. He can succeed in a drop defense — the Bulls base defense last season — as he talks often and fights hard to blow up screens. He can also work well in a switching defensive scheme, as Dosunmu’s size gives him the ability to hold his own with most wings and some bigger forwards in a pinch.

Now, you don’t need me to tell you that Ayo Dosunmu and Lonzo Ball are completely different as draft prospects coming out of college.

But I am very excited for Dosunmu’s fit with the Bulls precisely because I believe that he could down the line provide exactly what the Bulls front office is looking for in Lonzo Ball: defensive versatility, playmaking, and enough of a 3-point shot to play with any of the Bulls non-shooters. However, Dosunmu’s floater game and growing proficiency with midrange shots remind one that he could become much, much more.