Illinois Basketball: Can Terrence Shannon Jr Make an Ayo Dosunmu Jump?

Illinois Basketball: Can Terrence Shannon Jr Make an Ayo Dosunmu Jump?

Illinois Basketball just had it’s media day. They are just a couple weeks out from starting their season with two exhibition games. With the season creeping up and 2024 recruiting starting to heat up, Illinois Basketball is officially back in the swing of things. As always, Brad Underwood did not hold back from making some lofty analogies. Whether it was comparing Mark Smith to Jason Kidd or Andre Curbelo to Trae Young, Brad has never been bashful in preseason support. He had some interesting quotes about practically everyone on this team. However, he said something really interesting about the team’s star, Terrence Shannon Jr.

“Maybe since Ayo [Dosunmu]…between his Sophomore and Junior year..get better. His Midrange game is better, his decision making is better” 

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Ayo Dosunmu’s best year and Terrence Shannon‘s most previous year (per 40 minutes).

Ayo Dosunmu: 22.9 ppg, 7.2 rebounds, 6 assists, 3.8 turnovers on 48.8% FG (51.1 on 2 pointers), 39.0% 3pt, 5.8 free throws attempted per game. 

Terrence Shannon Jr.: 21.4 ppg, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.2 turnovers on 44.2% FG (53.4 on 2 pointers) 32.1% 3pt, 8.4 free throws attempted per game.

From a numbers point of view, the two scored out pretty similarly. Ayo was far superior than Terrence in terms of rebounding, assists and efficiency. The efficiency is notable as Terrence actually got to the free-throw line more often than Ayo. The key hole in Terrence’s game will be his mid-range game. If Terrence can effectively pull-up and make a mid-range shot and add that variety to his game, he will effectively rely less on contested drives and off the bounce three point shots. His free-throw numbers may go down in that regard, however his efficiency and points per game may increase.

Other improvements that Terrence can make?

Outside of the mid-range and adding some variety to his powerful drives, I think the biggest thing that Terrence Shannon Jr can draw from Ayo Dosunmu is Consistency. Terrence does not need to be a point guard or assist guy like Ayo. That is not his forte and it does not need to be. However, looking back at Ayo Dosunmu’s historic Illini career reminded me of one thing. Outside of the Loyola game, there were not many instances in which we wanted more from Ayo. I cannot recall many moments in Dosunmu’s time as an Illini that I felt that his effort was lacking or that he was being too passive.

If Terrence truly wants to make that jump, he has to improve his consistency.  Being assertive from the start is key. He does not need to have the UCLA game every single time, however he was frustratingly streaky at times last year. His stat-line in the game at home vs Wisconsin is perfect. He had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-11 fg and 9-12 from the free throwline.

In Ayo Dosunmu’s last year, he had two games (one was Loyola) in which he scored 10 points or less. Terrence Shannon Jr had 5 of those games. The scary point is, if Terrence Shannon Jr can improve these small assets, he can be even more prolific than the Bob Cousy award winner.