Dosunmu an important recruit for new Illini coach

Recruiting questions were at the forefront as Illinois officially welcomed new men's basketball coach Brad Underwood on Monday.

Making a call to 4-star guard Ayo Dosunmu from Chicago Morgan park is undoubtedly on Underwood's early to-do list as Illini coach.

Underwood has said he wants to keep in-state prospects home, and Dosunmu is the top junior in the state.

OrangeandBlueNews.com caught up with Dosunmu to get his reaction to the Illini hire, and update his recruitment.

Morgan Park capped off its season with an IHSA Class 3A championship with thrilling 69-67 OT win over Fenwich in the title game.

With the 2016-17 season in the books, look for recruiting to take center stage. Dosunmu named give schools that have been coming after him the hardest.

"The same schools that have been in contact the most are Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Northwestern, St. Louis, Iowa State, and Illinois before with Coach Groce," Dosunmu said. "Those have probably been on me the most."

John Groce and assistant coach Paris Parham were recruiting Dosunmu aggressively.

Now Underwood will need to build a relationship with Dosunmu, and he has reportedly already reached out to Dosunmu's coaches.

The first thing that jumps out to Dosunmu is Underwood's style of play.

"He seems like a great guy," Dosunmu said about Underwood. "Oklahoma State actually offered me. The uptempo style that they play is intriguing. Down the road we will see what happens. I want to meet him."

Dosunmu injuried his foot in Morgan Park's state semifinal game and didn't play in the championship game. He's not sure yet when he will be back on the court, as the AAU season looms with the EYBL club Mac Irvin Fire.

"We finished off winning the state championship, so that's all that matters," Dosunmu said. "My teammates were tremendous the whole year. Hopefully, I won't be out for very long."