After edging out Wake Forest in the final round, head coach Brad Underwood and the Illini have landed four-star point guard Ayo Dosunmu. Dosunmu is ranked No. 30 nationally in the 247sports.com composite, and the second best guard in the country.

Dosunmu is a huge deal for Illinois, and one that fans have been looking forward to all offseason. With big misses on other top targets such as Colin Castleton, George Conditt and Landers Nolley, some started to doubt that we would be able to hit on any of our top targets. But today, that doubt came to an end.

Since day one on the job, Underwood made it clear that Dosunmu was the top priority, and it looks like that went a long way with him and his family. Establishing that relationship allowed them to bring in a player who looks like the early favorite to win Mr. Basketball in Illinois, giving Illinois back to back Mr. Illinois’ for the first time since 2009 and 2010 when the Illini brought in Brandon Paul and Jereme Richmond.

With the addition of Dosunmu, the Illini are going to have a scary backcourt for the next few years. A group that includes Te’Jon Lucas, Trent Frazier, Mark Smith and Dosunmu will be an absolute nightmare for opponents to match up with, especially with a coach like Underwood. There will be times when we even see all four of those guys on the floor at once, and man, that is going to be exciting to watch.

Aside from the team impact, this also marks a huge landmark in Underwood’s in-state recruiting efforts. Since he has been on campus, he has landed what looks like it will be two straight top players from the state. In recent years, the Illini have been missing on these prospects like Jalen Brunson, Charlie Moore, and others. But, getting back on track and landing a couple guys like Smith and Dosunmu suddenly makes the Illini a huge destination for some of the state’s top talent again.

All in all, this is a massive step for Underwood and his staff, and a great player to build around for the class of 2018.

@TPolc

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