It looks like the Illinois basketball team is one step closer to landing a player in the transfer portal.
To say it has been a rough offseason for the Illini would be an understatement. After bowing out of the first round of the NCAA tournament, Illinois has now lost three players to the transfer portal.
Jayden Epps was the first player to leave the team. Brandon Lieb followed soon after. The latest departure was from RJ Melendez who is now looking for a new home as well.
With Illinois -3 in the transfer portal thus far, things might be starting to turn around for the Orange and Blue. On Thursday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that Marcus Domask is taking a visit to Illinois on Friday and Saturday.
Rothstein also continues on to mention the teams that have shown interest in the Southern Illinois transfer. This list has some big names on it, including Wisconsin, the home state of Domask.
Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask tells me that he will visit Illinois on Friday and Saturday.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 6, 2023
Also receiving interest from:
Clemson
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati
Xavier
BYU
Iowa State
Marcus Domask would be a great first piece out of the transfer portal for the Illinois basketball program
The fact that Illinois is having a player in for a visit is encouraging. At this point in the proceedings, I don’t think there has been a transfer player in the building. Domask, I believe, will be the first.
Domask has had an impressive career thus far. He has played four years with the Salukis and was a scoring machine. This past season, Domask was able to average a career-high of 16.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. He tacked on 3.8 assists per game as well.
I am really eyeing Domask’s three-point shooting. He took 4.7 three-pointers per game this past season and made them at a clip of 34.8%. For his career, he is a 35.9% shooter from deep.
The potential of Domask coming to Illinois is exciting. He is a big-time scorer who could help us tremendously on the wing. With so much attrition this offseason, there is no doubt Domask would start from day one.
I have Domask getting slotted into the No. 3 spot with the potential for him to drift over to the No. 4 spot at times. This would be optimal in the Illinois lineup.
Scoring is something that Illinois needed to add this offseason. Domask would check off that box. You can’t let him leave Champaign without a commitment this weekend.