Ayo Dosunmu Named 2020 Preseason AP All-American
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois basketball program will have an Associated Press All-America selection on its roster.
Ayo Dosunmu was named a first-team All-America selection by the news organization on Wednesday. Dosunmu was one of six players on the team including Iowa senior center Luka Garza as the only unanimous selection. Dosunmu was joined on the AP team's backcourt by Oklahoma State freshman guard Cade Cunningham. Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert and Arizona State guard Remy Martin tied for the final spot.
Dosunmu will be the first Illini player selected by the AP as an All-American since Dee Brown received the honor in 2006 and the first Illinois player as a first-team All-American since Brown was on that 2005 team. Luther Head and Deron Williams were also named to the second-team and third-team selections at the culmination of that 2004-05 campaign.
Among being selected as the Illinois’ Male Athlete of the Year for the 2019-20 academic year, Dosunmu was also named a first-team All-Big Ten selection this past season while leading Illinois to a 21-10 overall record and a top four finish in the league standings. He averaged a team-high 16.6 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest.
Earlier this week, Dosunmu and sophomore center Kofi Cockburn were named to the preseason All-Big Ten team and last month Dosunmu was named by CBS Sports as a preseason All-America selection.
Dosunmu was just the second player in school history to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back seasons as a freshman and sophomore since Cory Bradford in 1999 and 2000.
Dosunmu announced on July 31 that he would be returning to Illinois for his junior season and skipping the NBA draft process.
"Since [I was] a kid, I've been working," Dosunmu said in the narration of the announcement video. "My dream is to play in the NBA. But first, I need that national championship. Year three.”
While on the ‘College Hoops Today’ podcast with host and CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein, Underwood joked that the school would “build a statue (of him) to describe the reaction if his best player during his three-year tenure with the Illini would return for his junior season.