Ayo Donsumu has been the surprise of the Chicago Bulls season so far. The Bulls’ 2021 second-round pick from Illinois added yet another impressive performance to his rookie season Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.
The Bulls, who have struggled with having a consistent rotation all season, may have found a staple with Dosunmu. Dosunmu stuffed the stat sheet all night, finishing with a productive 11 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.
Earning Donovan’s Praise
A big part of Dosunmu’s success has come from earning the trust of the head man, Billy Donovan. Donovan has always been a coach that’s done well with developing young players. He showed that in the college ranks as well as with a young Oklahoma City roster.
After the game last night Donovan talked about how his relationship with Dosunmu has grown as well as his respect for him.
“I really love coaching him because you can really, really talk to him in a way that he wants the truth.”
Donovan continued.
“for me as a coach, when you see a young man with that much hunger and desire to want to be good, he wants to hear it all. I really respect that about him.”
Since the beginning of the season, Dosunmu has only gotten better with each game and with more opportunities given. Against the Nuggets, he logged a team-high 41 minutes which is just another indicator of earning Donovan’s trust.
Donovan added that Dosunmu makes a lot of plays that impact winning and that it was a big reason for the heavy minute load for him.
The Kid From Chicago
Dosunmu, a Morgan Park native, was informed of his first career start just an hour before tipoff. Donovan said he told him to be himself and that he was unfazed by the moment.
Ayo Dosunmu on the intro once the DRose history was explained to him: "That's a bonus of course because he's a legend and everything he did for the city of Chicago." https://t.co/YnS9uBR68h
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 7, 2021
During the introductions for the game, Donsumu was introduced by the phrase “From Chicago,” a phrase used before only for former MVP Derrick Rose. Even though he’s from Illinois, his heart is in Chicago, and preferred that introduction.
“I love from Champaign, but I’m from Chicago.”
He’s certainly earned the introduction by the way he plays and the way people around the team talk about him.
“He got that swag to him. He’s very confident when he’s out there. We put 100% trust into him.” -Lonzo ball on dosumnu
The future is bright for the 21-year-old rookie and it looks like he has the right team to flourish.
