5-star guard Dosunmu talks top 7

5-star point guard Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago Morgan Park has long been at the top of the Illinois recruiting board. As the November signing period inches closer, Dosunmu is getting closer to making his college decision.

This past week, Dosunmu named a top seven on Twitter, and Illinois made the cut as expected. Orange and Blue News spoke to Dosunmu to update where he's at in his recruitment and get his take on the schools that remain in contention.

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Ranked the No. 20 prospect overall in the class of 2018, Dosunmu holds over 20 offers. He narrowed his list to a final seven of Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, USC, Wake Forest, and Xavier.

"I felt like each of these schools have something that I like," Dosunmu said. "If I go there I believe I can play right away, and that was a big factor for me."

Dosunmu trimmed down his list with help from his parents and coaches from Morgan Park and his AAU club, the Mac Irvin Fire.

He has already visited USC and has two other visits set up. Dosunmu isn't yet sure if he'll take all five visits before making his college choice.

"My second visit will be to Wake Forest on September 29, and my third visit will be to Illinois on Oct. 13," Dosunmu said. "I'm just taking it each and every day and listening to what each coach has to say. I'll talk to my family and we could set more visits up."

Many believe that this will shape up as an Illinois and Xavier battle, but Kansas is always a threat. Dosunmu's former teammate at Morgan Park, guard Charlie Moore, transferred from Cal to Kansas in April.

At this point, Dosunmu doesn't have a specific timetable when he plans to make his decision.

"I still have to talk to my family," he said. "I'm just going to go through the process. It's just me sitting down and talking to the coaches and getting to know them a little more. When I know where home is, that's when I'll commit."

Dosunmu is one of four 2018 prospects that Illinois appears to be in strong competition for. The Illini also figure prominently in the recruitments of wings Landers Nolley and Talen Horton-Tucker, and Florida big man Colin Castleton.

Now that he has cut his list down, Dosunmu named what he likes most about each school in his top seven.

Kansas - "With Coach Self being a Hall 0f Fame coach, that speaks for itself. I feel like the Kansas coaching staff can get me to the next level. I really like them.

Illinois - "It's my hometown school. Coach Underwood, Coach (Chin) Coleman, the entire coaching staff, I feel like they made me a top priority and they have come to watch me play a lot. "

New Mexico - "I think they are an up and coming program. Tony Snell went there, and he's in the NBA. That shows that they can put guys in the NBA."

Oklahoma State - "They told me they would put the ball in my hands. They play an uptempo offense. They have a plan for me on how they would get me to where I need to be."

USC - "I like Coach Enfield and Coach (Jason) Hart. The visit there was great. I love their recruiting class and I like the conference they play in, the Pac-12, which is always good."

Wake Forest - "Coach Manning played in the NBA, so he played where I want to go. The ACC is one of the best conferences and they produce a lot of pros."

Xavier - "Coach Mack and Coach (Luke) Murray, they've probably been recruiting me the longest. I really like Xavier and I like the tempo they play at."

The competition is strong and the process has to play out, but the Illini appear to be in good position to land the dynamic guard and he would be a cornerstone member of the 2018 class.

This summer running with the Fire, Dosunmu was the fourth leading scoring in Nike's EYBL, averaging 23.2 points per game.

Though the Fire struggled to get wins, Dosunmu said it was still a productive summer.

"I went out there and played hard every game," he said. "We didn't win as much as we wanted to, but I went there and competed every game."

Next up is the high school season. Morgan Park, the defending IHSA Class 3A state champion, begins practice in November and the goal is to get back to Peoria in March.

Though highly-ranked guard Nimari Burnett moved the California, the Mustang's back court will still be loaded. Morgan Park added super-soph Adam Miller, who transferred in from Peoria Manual.

"He's a great player," Dosunmu said about Miller. "I think we can be a great 1-2 punch. He knows how to advance the ball, that's what I like about him. He can get me the ball where I need it, and he can also take his shots."

Another returning player for the Mustangs is big man Tamell Pearson, a recent commitment for UAB.

Getting back to Peoria is particularly important to Dosunmu. He missed the title game in March against Fenwick with a foot injury.

"I always told myself that I would play in a state title, so I'm looking forward to going down there again and winning it," Dosunmu said.