CHAMPAIGN — Brad Underwood used the word “whole” to describe having his entire roster on campus and back to workouts.

That was official last week, with Ayo Dosunmu getting in his first run back at Ubben Basketball Complex after spending nearly five months in Chicago prepping for an NBA future before the junior guard decided to return for another season with the Illini.

The definition of “whole” became even more complete Monday. The start of classes for the new academic year also doubled as the official first day on the roster for preferred walk-on freshmen Edgar Padilla Jr. (a 6-foot-1 guard from Puerto Rico) and Connor Serven (a 6-9 forward out of St. Rita).

The addition of Padilla and Serven marks two more young players that now fall under Dosunmu’s leadership mantle. It’s a role the All-Big Ten guard said he intends to expand in the 2020-21 season. Illinois coach Brad Underwood made that point quite clear when the two spoke earlier this month right before Dosunmu announced his intent to pull his name from the NBA draft and return a third season with the Illini.

“He’s leaning on me a lot more,” Dosunmu said. “Basically, any time something goes wrong, I’m going to be the one to blame. I’m really focused on that role where I have to run the show and make sure everything is good and making sure everyone is competing and everyone is going out there and giving it their all each and every game. Just being an extension of (Underwood) on the court and being more of a leader.”

Dosunmu, of course, won’t go at it alone from a leadership standpoint. After two straight seasons where the team was rightfully considered a young group, Illinois has several veteran players in the fold for 2020-21. That includes senior guards Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams, junior forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili and even sophomore center Kofi Cockburn, who, like Dosunmu, eschewed jumping to his professional career earlier this month to run it back in Champaign.

Underwood expects leadership growth out of all them.

“I don’t think you ever get complacent in a role of leadership,” Underwood said. “I think you always have to find ways to challenge yourself. I think you can always become better at what you do.”

Dosunmu will help reaffirm the standard of Illinois basketball for the group of freshmen that now numbers six strong with the preferred walk-on additions. He already has a relationship with freshman guard Adam Miller from their time together at Morgan Park, and developing the same with the other five is now underway since his return to campus.

“It’s their job as well to help follow the lead Ayo has set,” Underwood said of his newcomers. “Our culture is established. Those young guys have to do that.”

Dosunmu will be out front leading the way. While his focus through the spring and most of the summer was on the NBA, that changed when he committed to another season at Illinois.

“The one thing you never have to worry about Ayo is there’s sacrifice in Ayo to become great,” Underwood said. “All the great ones have that. Ayo’s got a different place that he gets to. His 99.9 percent commitment to the NBA? That just shifts now. He’s got a new focus. That will carry over to University of Illinois basketball and his continued improvement. We’re going to see a very, very good Ayo and a guy that’s got a mental approach that’s continuing to grow and really be one of the elite mental minds in college basketball.”

{p class=”card-about”}Scott Richey is a reporter covering college basketball at The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).