After official visits to Wake Forest and Illinois, Dosunmu will make a decision.
5-star combo guard Ayo Dosunmu has finished his official visits to Wake Forest and Illinois, and will likely decide which school he will attend in the coming week(s).
Most folks know this by now if they have been paying attention, but Dosunmu is the 27th ranked player in the Class of 2018 according to 247Sports. At 6-4, 172 pounds, he is the definition of a program-changer, and is down to Wake Forest and Illinois as his final two schools.
The school that lands Dosunmu will be getting a dynamic scorer and passer, and the type of player who can elevate a basketball team to the upper echelon of the rankings simply by stepping onto the court.
For Wake Forest he would be the perfect final piece to a 2018 class that would become the best in the nation according to 247Sports.
For Illinois he would mark the first piece of a foundation that Brad Underwood is looking to build, as he would become the first commit in 2018.
Wherever he lands, it will be a HUGE day for the school, staff, and fan base.
My educated guess is that he will decide sooner rather than later, and there are a few tweets from prep scouts that back up that notion:
From what I am hearing Ayo Dosunmu (@AyoDos_11) will be coming to a decision sooner rather then later.
— Jonathan Okon (@okonscoutnews) October 16, 2017
Dosunmu will have a family meeting later in the week according to Derek Piper at Scout, and I would assume that a decision will come shortly after that meeting.
Top #Illini priority @AyoDos_11 tells me: "The visit was great. The next few days are going to be tough." Family meeting later this week.
— Derek Piper (@DPiperScout) October 16, 2017
By all accounts Dosunmu had really good official visits at both Illinois and Wake Forest, and it is without a doubt down to those two schools.
The cases have been made by analysts, fans, and coaching staffs on both sides and it is now up to Ayo and his family to decide the best fit for his basketball and academic future.
Following along on social media gives an unclear picture of where things currently stand aside from the fact that it appears to be quite the battle between Wake Forest and Illinois to pick him up. He has liked and retweeted information from both schools in the past few days and appears to be showing no favorite right now on Twitter.
I am obviously biased towards Wake Forest, but attempting to step back and assess the situation completely logically, I feel that the Demon Deacons are ahead of Illinois in the rebuilding process and where things currently stand.
If Dosunmu is looking closely at who he could possibly be playing with in the Class of 2018 then there is are no comparison at all, as Wake Forest currently boasts the 11th best class in the nation with two top 70 recruits, while Illinois has yet to receive a commitment from anybody in the class.
Morning everyone. Reminder that in this huge week a commitment from Ayo Dosunmu would push Wake Forest to #1 in 247’s 2018 Team Rankings
— WFU Sports Stats (@DeacFan3) October 16, 2017
If Dosunmu is looking to win and win right away then Wake Forest has the talent advantage according to historical recruiting rankings, and also a more recent NCAA Tournament appearance (from last year) to show him.
The biggest hindrance for Wake Forest seems to be the location of Illinois to the Dosunmu Family overall. While Winston-Salem isn’t exactly in a remote location that is unreachable, should Dosunmu attend Illinois it would be easier for his family to make it to home games and multiple road games.
There is also the relationship between new Illinois assistant coach Chin Coleman and the Dosunmu family that dates back several years. Coleman was the first coach to offer Dosunmu last year and has a pre-existing relationship with Dosunmu’s father.
Illinois picked up two additional Crystal Balls for Dosunmu yesterday after the Illinois official visit wrapped up. It is uncertain if those were made by people “in the know” or pure speculation based on where things currently stand. The experts have unanimously weighed in that Illinois is where Dosunmu will ultimately wind up.
Additionally, there is the FBI angle to the recruitment as well. While it very well could wind up not being anything at all, Brad Underwood was head coach of Oklahoma State last year and his time in charge there is being examined by the FBI following a subpoena issued last week surrounding assistant coach Lamont Evans.
Even if nothing comes of this, in a recruitment that, by all accounts, appears to be very much a coin flip at this juncture, anything can tip the scales, and potential issues between Underwood and the NCAA could be something to keep an eye on.
Overall, the Wake Forest coaching staff, and especially Jamill Jones has done an incredible job to put the Demon Deacons into contention. It is being noted by recruiting analysts, scouts, and without a doubt high school coaches across the nation.
Regardless of where Dosunmu chooses to go to college, the future is extremely bright for the Demon Deacons with this coaching staff and it’s work ethic at the helm.
Personally I think the decision is still very much up in the air, and the longer that it goes without a commitment, the better the chances are for Wake Forest. Having the final visit is a huge advantage because of the emotions and hype that surround a recruit on his visit, and that is what Illinois enjoyed this past weekend.
If it gets past a week without a commitment or an announced commitment then I think Wake Forest could steal him right from under Brad Underwood’s nose.
