Morgan Park guard Ayo Dosunmu was one of 12 players selected for the USA Basketball Under-18 national team on Tuesday.
He did it with a special focus on defense.
“I knew everyone down here could score, so I thought coaches would be looking for someone who could play defense and play other positions,” Dosunmu said. “I picked my man up full court.”
Dosunmu, an Illinois recruit, is the first local to make the team since Jalen Brunson.
“It’s always nice to give Illinois fans something good,” Dosunmu said. “They know that when I get there I will give them everything I have, play both ends of the floor.”
Thirty-two players were invited to the USA Basketball training camp in Colorado Springs this past weekend, including Simeon’s Talen Horton-Tucker. Dosunmu will play with Team USA in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Canada next week.
“The competition was intense,” Dosunmu said. “Imagine all the best players from EYBL all together competing for 12 spots. Nobody wants to get cut. At the end of the day there are a lot of people that were sad.
“I realized I had a good shot about a month ago when I got the invite. My dad and I prepared well, did three and four practices a day.”
Dosunmu was a Sun-Times All-City, All-State and All-Area selection. He helped lead the Mustangs to consecutive Class 3A state championships.
