clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Ayo is everything the Bulls thought they were getting and more

Ayo Dosumu showed out at the Boston Garden.

By JeffHorwitz
Chicago Bulls v Boston Celtics Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Ayo Dosumu had a perfect shooting night on Monday against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden. And pretty soon, everyone is going to know his name.

The former Illini standout, now a rookie with the Chicago Bulls, went 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from three. That was good for 14 points in just 22 minutes.

Dosunmu also had four rebounds, two assists, and a +15 plus/minus. His 14 points were the difference in the 128-114 victory for the Bulls.

To celebrate Ayo’s NBA coming out party, here’s an exact timeline of all his great plays from yesterday.

1:07 in the first quarter: Ayo makes an eight foot pull-up jumper

9:52 in the second quarter: Ayo gets a transition bucket on an assist from Alex Caruso

8:36 in the second quarter: Ayo assists Tony Bradley on a layup

6:28 in the second quarter: Ayo bails out Nikola Vucevic, who lost his dribble, for a layup

1:54 in the third quarter: Ayo hits a corner three!

11:19 in the fourth quarter: Ayo makes another shot! Wow!

9:29 in the fourth quarter: Ayo makes a great pass on a transition alley-oop to Derrick Jones Jr.

6:54 in the fourth quarter: Ayo makes a three pointer to take the lead after the Bulls WERE DOWN 19 POINTS in the third quarter. It was a huge shot and really changed the game’s momentum.

But, seriously, just look at that shot. It was so good that the net barely moved. Beautiful.

Let’s hear that shot on Celtics TV.

A gamer is right! And of course here’s the call from Adam Amin and Stacey King of NBC Sports Chicago.

Adam and Stacey are pumped! So am I, and if you’re reading this, you should be too.

Ayo’s success in the NBA is more important to the Illini right now than it is to the Bulls. Sure, he helped win the game Monday, but he’s (likely) not going to make or break this season for the Bulls.

However, Ayo’s performance shows potential Illini recruits — especially recruits from Chicago — that if you go to Illinois, you can succeed at the NBA level. Even if you’re not a Bulls fan, which most of us probably are, you should be rooting for Ayo.

Ayo helped bring Illinois basketball back, his success in the NBA will help the Illini in recruiting, and most importantly, he’s a great kid.