After a thrilling 78-76 win over Iowa on March 8, the Illinois men’s basketball team received a string of bad news.

Shortly thereafter, the NCAA tournament was officially canceled. The Illini were slated to make their first appearance since 2013. Two weeks later, sophomore guard Alan Griffin announced he would transfer from the program. On April 7, freshman Kofi Cockburn announced he was declaring for the NBA Draft. Star guard Ayo Dosunmu would follow him 10 days later.

But after months of speculation, head coach Brad Underwood finally received some positive news when Dosunmu announced his return to Illinois on July 31. Less than 24 hours later Cockburn would do the same, and the Illini suddenly were the talk of college basketball.

Dosunmu announced his return with a video on Twitter. The Chicago native made two versions of the video, one where he would announce he’s staying in the draft and one where he announced his return to school.

“Since a kid, I’ve been working. My dream is to play in the NBA,” said Dosunmu in the video. “But first, I need that national championship. Year three.”

Dosunmu and Cockburn return, along with starting guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams. Underwood also brings in a top 20 recruiting class nationally. In early preseason polls, Illinois has seen their stock soar. CBS Sports ranked Underwood’s squad at No. 6, while Jon Rothstein has the Illini at No. 7 and The Athletic has them at No. 9.  Wherever they end up, expect Illinois to have its highest preseason ranking since 2004-2005 when they were ranked No. 5 to start the season.

This will also likely be the highest ranked team Brad Underwood has coached in his eight years as a head coach. He led Stephen F. Austin to the round of 32 twice but has never taken a team to the Sweet Sixteen. In his first season as coach of Illinois, the team finished 14-18. The following year they were 12-21. Nonetheless, Underwood is not surprised by the turnaround the program has made.

“I expected us to be good. I came here with the mindset of winning Big Ten Championships,” Underwood said. “I can honestly say I’m probably a bit surprised that we were in the last week of the year last year, playing for the league championship. I think that’s an attribute to the culture.”

Illinois will have to manage and live up to these high expectations, but it’s a much better position to be in than in previous years. Cockburn will look to build on his Big Ten Freshman of the Year campaign. Dosunmu has a legitimate chance to be Illinois’ first All-American since Dee Brown in 2006. Together, they will look to bring Illinois back to the Final Four.

“I want to win … I want to put Illinois in a position where to win a national championship and contend for a national championship,” Dosunmu said. “When I committed here I said I wanted to turn the program around, and I think we’re definitely right there. Now it’s just time to execute.”

Dosunmu will look to bring Illinois fans more joy and victories this season, like the one against Iowa last season. His decision to return along with Cockburn was a start and was the best news Illinois fans heard all summer.

@brandonsimberg

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