Men’s player of the year: Ayo Dosunmu (basketball)
In an unanimous vote, junior Ayo Dosunmu was selected as The Daily Illini’s men’s player of the year.
The Chicago native put together a historic third season in Champaign, as he was the only player in the last 11 seasons to finish the year with an average of at least 20 points, six rebounds and five assists per game, eventually ending up with 20.1, 6.3 and 5.3, respectively.
Dosunmu also received the Bob Cousy Award for the best collegiate point guard, though this was one of several accolades he received.
Despite playing the Big Ten tournament with a mask following a facial injury suffered near the end of the regular season, Dosunmu was the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was named to the All-Tournament Team. For his dominant play all season, the junior guard was an unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten selection.
He also was an unanimous First-Team All-American, receiving first-team honors from USA Today, Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports. USA Today also named Dosunmu its National Player of the Year.
Though he dominated on a nightly basis, Dosunmu will forever be remembered as one of the biggest factors for the men’s basketball program’s turnaround, as his decision to stay in state and play for Illinois dramatically shifted the tides for an underperforming program.
After three seasons at…
