VIDEO: Illinois Guard Ayo Dosunmu On NBA Draft/Return To College Decision

For the first time since his decision to return to Illinois for his junior season, Ayo Dosunmu discussed his choice to skip the upcoming NBA draft.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For the first time since his decision to return to Illinois for his junior season, Ayo Dosunmu sat down with local and statewide media to discuss his choice to skip the upcoming NBA draft.

Illini Now/Sports Illustrated has the full 35-minute Zoom video media conference above where the 6-foot-5 guard discussed his process and how the coronavirus pandemic delaying the professional basketball seasons paid a giant role in his decision to return to college basketball for a third season.

“If I had a definite (NBA draft) combine and if I had an opportunity to work out for teams to show my game, a lot of things could’ve gone differently,” Dosunmu said. “Not having those things and basically being on standby made things very difficult.”

Dosunmu announced via a video on Twitter Friday evening that he’s withdrawing his name from NBA draft consideration and will return to college basketball for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

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.

With his return to college basketball, Dosunmu is expected to be considered for All-American status and immediately puts the Illini at the top of any preseason Big Ten Conference projections. 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.

The day after Dosunmu declared for the draft, Illinois fourth-year head coach Brad Underwood, praised Dosunmu, as the star player who has contributed more than any other talent to reviving the Illini basketball program.

“Ayo is part of the foundation of this program. We’ll forever be grateful to him for sharing in our vision as a high school recruit, and the contributions he’s made over the last two years to lead Illinois Basketball back to national prominence,” Underwood’s statement read.

Underwood is slated to speak to local and statewide media Monday afternoon via Zoom.