Illini in the NBA
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I agree - his draft stock is just not there - but things could change before June, but it looking like he goes undrafted or a late second round pick which is almost the same thing with little guaranteed money and most likely a G league stint
I'm surprised there hasn't been more reported about NIL money - it seems it's all under wraps across all schools other than some large deals you hear about
It seems a situation like this is ripe for local businesses and alumni putting together their "Kofi fund" for a 7 figure NIL deal for him to stay another year - that could certainly sway him vs. going to Europe or G League
If the NIL money is really good then that makes sense. I want Kofi to make the league but my gut thinks he is much better suited for the college game than the NBA. He certainly has been a much better college center than Meyers was but does not than the same skill set, athleticism, or potential. It still bugs me that the coaching staff then used Meyers the way they did. He could have done so much more at Illinois but the scouts still took him in the lottery and he got rich. I hope Kofi gets paid well too one way or another. I'm thankful for NIL and I hope Kofi weighs his options and maxes out his income.
Love Ayo obviously but the Bulls need to get Lonzo back. Ayo is a nice defensive spark off the bench.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
Tribune article on Ayo: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nb...nmu-e2-80-99s-growth-as-a-defender/ar-AAV1Awh
Looking at Lonzo's stats vs Ayo's splits as a starter, Ayo and Lonzo are virtually the same player. Points, rebounds, & assists are within 1.
From the ESPN Jamal Collier article (post #45),
“...the Bulls used their only draft pick, No. 38 overall, on a little-known, hometown guard. It was a nice story. A silver lining in Dosunmu's draft-night fall. But second-round picks rarely last in the NBA. And Dosunmu has done far more than just last. The 6-foot-5 guard has become one of the team's defensive anchors and has played a key role in supercharging Chicago's rapid rise...”
"As I broke down his game more, I didn't think his shooting would translate," says an Eastern Conference scout.”
“Dosunmu says... ‘Thirty-seven people drafted ahead of me. Of course. That's motivation every day.’”
It truly was Divine Intervention that allowed the Bulls to draft Ayo at #38. The fact that he was devalued on draft day by everyone outside of Chicago was a blessing for him and for the Bulls future.
It’s almost impossible that Ayo has the impact he’s having in The League so soon in his career anywhere else. Everything has fallen into place and lined up nicely.
Ayo and his family are good people. This just proves that good things can happen to good people even in ways nobody saw coming.
The metrics measure speed and length and all that other stuff. What do metrics not measure? Heart and desire. That's Ayo (plus talent).
Some guys less talented than Ayo had long NBA careers just on heart and desire (Jerry Sloan?). But when you have talent AND heart and desire... you’ve personally won the Draft Lottery where ever you were drafted.
“...the Bulls used their only draft pick, No. 38 overall, on a little-known, hometown guard. It was a nice story. A silver lining in Dosunmu's draft-night fall. But second-round picks rarely last in the NBA. And Dosunmu has done far more than just last. The 6-foot-5 guard has become one of the team's defensive anchors and has played a key role in supercharging Chicago's rapid rise...”
"As I broke down his game more, I didn't think his shooting would translate," says an Eastern Conference scout.”
“Dosunmu says... ‘Thirty-seven people drafted ahead of me. Of course. That's motivation every day.’”
It truly was Divine Intervention that allowed the Bulls to draft Ayo at #38. The fact that he was devalued on draft day by everyone outside of Chicago was a blessing for him and for the Bulls future.
It’s almost impossible that Ayo has the impact he’s having in The League so soon in his career anywhere else. Everything has fallen into place and lined up nicely.
Ayo and his family are good people. This just proves that good things can happen to good people even in ways nobody saw coming.
The metrics measure speed and length and all that other stuff. What do metrics not measure? Heart and desire. That's Ayo (plus talent).
Some guys less talented than Ayo had long NBA careers just on heart and desire (Jerry Sloan?). But when you have talent AND heart and desire... you’ve personally won the Draft Lottery where ever you were drafted.
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
That article is dumb in at least one way. "Little known"? He was a first team AA and was the Cousy Award winner. He was also the leader of a team that was a #1 seed last year. I'd hardly call that "little known".
He could make a real nice living over seas if they are interested. Israel, Italy, Greece. There are a lot of leagues that have money to spend.
I think Ayo has good speed and length but most other teams ignored that. I think they did not trust his shooting form, esp. the 3 pointer.
Calillini
Now appearing in Tampa
In the games I have watched since his elevation to the starting 5, what has stood out is his balanced offensive skills, drives, mid range pull ups, tear drops, passing. Doing some things I don’t think I saw last year; in my mind he has really upped his offense.
Plus it is great to see all the positive press he gets in Chicago media.
Ayo is a well rounded basketball player. Defense , passing, rebounding, shooting, high motor combined with good athleticism and size. He was NBA ready and when he got his chance he excelled. He gets the positive press because he is willing to do the little things to help them win.
So many draftees are athletic freaks with poor shooting skills and only want to score.
So many draftees are athletic freaks with poor shooting skills and only want to score.
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And above all other qualities, the kid is a winner. He always has been.
It's so cool to see that personality trait (traits) translate to NBA success. Hope he keeps movin' on up.
Way less pressure coming off the bench and playing against the opposing teams second unit. Its ideal for Ayo right now. Nice to have Alex back and look forward to getting Lonzo back soon hopefully.
For those that think Kofi should come back here are a couple of data points I found a couple of data points (didn't take the time to validate fully, but seems to corroborate):
1) Kofi can make good money with NIL
The top 20 NIL athletes made between $50K to $500K. The spread is wide which shows that only a few really make the $$, while most only make some. Not saying $50K is nothing, but compare it to the floor of a top international league (israel, greece, china) he could make more doing that than than try to be in the top 3-5 NIL athlete deals.
Top NIL Athletes: https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/how-much-is-nil-really-worth-to-student-athletes/
Different League Salaries: https://www.josecolorado.com/overse...all salaries can range,when it comes to wages.
2) Kofi needs to work on his game to make it to the NBA
You can say that about a lot of these guys and in the end (as Ayo proved), sometimes these experts don't know what they are talking about. The NBA has changed and it's not as suited for what Kofi does. But, I fall back to Ayo's own statement to Kofi: "You're ready for this". Kofi is a throwback, but also brings something to the NBA that they don't have many players like him. The value of a team is to have different players and strengths that they can bring to the table. Kofi brings his strength, length, size, etc. that can bring a different dimension for a team that could use it.
Obviously, my take on this is that Kofi is ready to leave and he would hurt himself, his career, and his pocketbook even more if he chose to stay. As a fan of the Illini, would love to have another run with him, but as an even bigger fan of Kofi as a person, I just don't see the same upside for him staying vs. going and giving the NBA a shot.
My dream is for the Bulls to draft him of course. Love to see the tandem and the Chicago area a buzz with U of I again. I think the Bulls realized the power of our fanbase and they'll likely have Ayo advocating for Kofi to whatever degree he feels he can. But that would be awesome!
1) Kofi can make good money with NIL
The top 20 NIL athletes made between $50K to $500K. The spread is wide which shows that only a few really make the $$, while most only make some. Not saying $50K is nothing, but compare it to the floor of a top international league (israel, greece, china) he could make more doing that than than try to be in the top 3-5 NIL athlete deals.
Top NIL Athletes: https://www.athleticdirectoru.com/articles/how-much-is-nil-really-worth-to-student-athletes/
Different League Salaries: https://www.josecolorado.com/overse...all salaries can range,when it comes to wages.
2) Kofi needs to work on his game to make it to the NBA
You can say that about a lot of these guys and in the end (as Ayo proved), sometimes these experts don't know what they are talking about. The NBA has changed and it's not as suited for what Kofi does. But, I fall back to Ayo's own statement to Kofi: "You're ready for this". Kofi is a throwback, but also brings something to the NBA that they don't have many players like him. The value of a team is to have different players and strengths that they can bring to the table. Kofi brings his strength, length, size, etc. that can bring a different dimension for a team that could use it.
Obviously, my take on this is that Kofi is ready to leave and he would hurt himself, his career, and his pocketbook even more if he chose to stay. As a fan of the Illini, would love to have another run with him, but as an even bigger fan of Kofi as a person, I just don't see the same upside for him staying vs. going and giving the NBA a shot.
My dream is for the Bulls to draft him of course. Love to see the tandem and the Chicago area a buzz with U of I again. I think the Bulls realized the power of our fanbase and they'll likely have Ayo advocating for Kofi to whatever degree he feels he can. But that would be awesome!
FWIW the first link seems to be an estimate of potential NIL for athletes based on licensing deal benchmarks and social media footprint. That may be a good framework for estimating NIL value in an economy where the only barometer is marketing value, but clearly boosters are signing deals with athletes with no expectation of getting value. Unless I missed it, this does not take into account such NIL deals where boosters are intentionally "overpaying."
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
Do you have examples of where a booster has "overpayed" for a player in NIL, just to attract him? I've heard so little about NIL money, it's hard to know that's true. It seems LOGICAL, but I don't see evidence. Instead, the big dollars I see are in fact going to players who already have hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok or IG, and who companies know can actually influence young buyers. Just like the Marketing playbook says.
I don't know how you can say "the big dollars are in fact going..." when these deals are not public knowledge. That link you provided doesn't provide actual dollars being earned by anyone. It's just estimates based purely on social media footprint. Kofi has a deal with T/CCI Manufacturing that I am pretty confident is not accounted for by the estimates in that link. Tyty Washington got a Porshe from a local dealership, which again probably is not accounted for in those estimates.
Spencer Rattler might be an example.
I think guys like kofi that used to try to make the jump to the league have significant reason to stay for NIL reasons.
BUT, I also think that they have incentive to stay MULTIPLE YEARS WITHOUT TRANSFERRING, at the same school as they build their name and brand and make it more likely for people associated with the school to pay them.
I capitalize because NIL has the potential to reverse TWO trends college fans hate: Leaving to pros before you’re ready, and losing top players to transfer.
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