COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo — Ayo Dosunmu was dominant in his final two seasons at Morgan Park.
The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as a junior then 24.5 points, seven assists and seven rebounds as a senior as the Mustangs won a pair of Class 3A state titles.
Rivals.com has the future Illinois guard ranked as a five-star prospect and No. 28 in the country. The ranking from 247Sports is almost the exact same — five stars and No. 27 nationally.
That’s basically the average profile for the 33 players invited to the U.S. U18 training camp in Colorado Springs. Certainly for the 18 that made the first cut for the team that will represent Team USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship starting Sunday in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
They’ve all been dominant — especially in scoring — for their own teams. Dosunmu knows that and knows that he has to show more to be one of the last 12 standing when the final cut is made.
“Everyone here, on their high school team, averaged like 25-plus,” Dosunmu said. “So I want to be different. I want to show my defensive abilities. It’s a pride thing.
“I want the coaching staff and the committee to stand out and see what I can do that’s different from the other guys. Anybody here can get a bucket. But who will defend?”
Dosunmu has had plenty of opportunities to show off his defensive skills in his time in Colorado Springs. The 33 players invited to the training camp included a who’s who of the best guards in the country. That includes Cole Anthony (No. 1 guard in 2019), the fast-rising DJ Carton (now a five-star per 247Sports), Jalen Lecque (nicknamed “Baby Westbrook”) and five-star Kentucky commit Tyrese Maxey.
“It’s through the roof,” Dosunmu said about the talent level during tryouts. “That’s why I want to prove that I can defend. If your shot is on or off, it doesn’t matter on defense. You shouldn’t have a bad day on defense. Defensively, that’s something you should always be good with.”
Dosunmu’s extended stay in Colorado Springs this week and the potential he makes the U.S. team and plays the next two weeks in Canada will delay his arrival at Illinois. The Chicago native is the top player in the Illini’s six-man 2018 recruiting class.
With those rankings come elevated expectations for Dosunmu.
“I don’t take it as pressure,” he said. “I take it as an opportunity, as a blessing. I don’t really look at the (recruiting) rankings, but being the highest-ranked player since Dee Brown and that was what, 2003? So that’s been a long time ago.
“It’s 2018 now. That means nobody in the last 15 years has taken on the kind of challenge that I’ve taken on. At the end of the day, you’ve got to find something that separates yourself. That’s what I plan on doing. I’m going to take it as a pride thing. I’m going to bring it offensively and defensively and bring my leadership to the best of my abilities to the program to turn the program around.”
Paul Klee contributed to this report.