Ayo Dosunmu remembers well the day he met the “killer” side of DeMar DeRozan.
It was late last summer, and though the Chicago Bulls hadn’t yet assembled for training camp in advance of the 2021-22 season, the new-look squad was already well-acquainted.
Dosunmu, in an extension of a practice spawned during his three years at Illinois, carried around a notebook, jotting down impressions as he prepared for his transition to the NBA.
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“When I met DeMar, I wrote down he was a cool guy, but he really didn’t talk a lot,” Dosunmu said in the latest edition of the Bulls Talk Podcast.
But that demeanor shifted during a memorable open-gym session, wherein DeRozan and Zach LaVine exacted revenge on a Dosunmu-led squad that had bested the All-Stars one day prior.
“We beat them — probably, we played five games — probably 3-2,” Dosunmu said. “And then I remember the next day, he (DeRozan) just went crazy.”
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Dosunmu didn’t draw the defensive assignment on DeRozan, but was in awe of his exploits nonetheless.
“(He) made every shot. He was talking. And I think they probably beat us 4-1 that day. They killed us,” Dosunmu said. “They won the whole day, and then I knew — that was my first impression of knowing he (DeRozan) was a killer on the court.”
DeRozan, though, balances deftly the line of being demanding and cerebral as a leader.
“Off the court, he was always a cool guy, chill dude, he never gave me arrogant vibes,” Dosunmu said. “He a cool vet.”
And Dosunmu is quite the rook. Together, they’ve forged a productive bond for the resurgent Bulls.