Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu answers the call to be a “go-to guy” on the glass.
The Bulls were poor in the offensive rebounding department, so coach Billy Donovan went into training camp looking for players to change that. Dosunmu raised his hand. By Joe Cowley
Come on Dosunmu
Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu is looking for ways to make sure he becomes a rotation player this season, and the “Go-guy” is a good place to start. That was Bulls coach Billy Donovan’s version of posting a “Help Wanted” sign.
When Donovan entered training camp a few weeks ago, he told his players that the Bulls needed offensive rebounds — players willing to drop their bodies in the paint and willing to claw and scratch for that extra offense. Guard the reaction of Ayo Dosunmu? Sign up
Whether he’s aware that minutes will be tough this season or just his toughness in Chicago, Dosunmu is all for helping a team that ranked 28th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game last season (8.5).
Donovan called that special unit “Go guys” and Dosunmu accepted it.
“You have the ability to be the ‘back’ guy, get back to the shot or the ‘go to’ guy and knock down offensive rebounds,” Dosunmu said. “I just think being a go-to guy allows us to get more opportunities on offensive rebounds. I have a knack for going after the ball.”
The Nuggets found themselves in a double overtime win over the Bulls in the preseason on Thursday. The 6-5 Dosunmu grabbed three of the Bulls’ 26 offensive rebounds in the game and took on all of his defenders.
No wonder Donovan smiled when talking about the former Morgan Park-Illinois standout.
“My husband Ai, right?” Donovan said. “We said ‘go boys’ we’re going to go. Did he go [Thursday] or what? He wanted to be the ‘go guy’ and he went there. I give him a lot of credit. He created a lot of extra assets for us. ”When the teams take turns, it’s easy to send the attacker back. When the defense is in place and you get caught playing in midfield, it’s usually man-on-man and it’s really hard to recover from those positions. So I give Ayo a lot of credit. He took a lot of responsibility to be the guy who wanted to go to the glass. We need men with that mentality.”
Dosunmu was well aware of this, especially how it could help him earn playing time. It’s not like VP of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas hit it out of the park with his last three draft picks.
Dosunmu was a strong second-round pick in 2021, but 2022 first-round pick Dalen Terry (18th) and 2023 second-round pick Julian Phillips (35th) will struggle to find minutes in the Bulls’ rotation.
Would it help if they revealed the potential of the “go guy”? Absolutely. And it’s a lot better than being “not a man” – as in, no playtime. “I don’t necessarily like to judge preseason because a lot of people thought Ayo wasn’t going to get a lot of playing time his rookie year,” Donovan said of Terry and Phillips getting time. in circulation. “When Alex [Caruso] and Lonzo [Ball] got hurt, there was a huge hole. I think it’s up to all of us to keep those guys working and ready to help them get better.
”When a guy doesn’t really have a path in the rotation that he’s going to make, a player has to have a plan that’s in front of him where he can improve. Then a player has to try to get better, whether it’s in practice with us, in the Windy City [G League] games, all those things.”
Or, in Dosunmu’s case, a willingness to do the dirty work. “I know what kind of player I am, so I can find a way on the court,” Dosunmu said. “Whatever it is to help the team win. I’m just doing my part.”
Leave a Reply