Illinois Basketball: Illini boost scoring with transfer portal commitment

Illinois basketball continued to add scoring via the transfer portal on Monday night.

Earlier in the day on Monday, the Illini were able to secure a transfer portal commitment in the form of Marcus Domask. His pledge helped turn the tides for the Orange and Blue, as we had already lost three players, two of which were key for 2023-24, when it comes to the transfer portal.

Domask is going to be a nice scorer on the wing for the Illini. I could see him playing the No. 3 spot. Illinois needed at least one more piece to go alongside Domask, though.

That piece was put into place on Monday night when Justin Harmon announced that he was ending his recruitment and committing to Illinois.

Illinois basketball has now landed two scoring threats out of the transfer portal

Coming out of Curie High School in Chicago, Harmon was not looked at as a big-time recruit. This lack of spotlight landed him at Barton Community College for his first year of college basketball.

After that season, Harmon would land with Utah Valley where he would shine the brightest. He spent his sophomore season averaging 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. This past season, he was able to improve on all of those numbers by averaging 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest.

I am also intrigued by Harmon’s improved three-point shooting year-over-year. He was only taking 1.8 three-pointers per game as a sophomore and made them at a clip of 29.7%. Harmon then increased his three-pointers to 2.9 attempts per game, but he also improved his three-pointer percentage to 34%. That improvement is something Illinois needs next season.

Over the last 24 hours, Brad Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff have pulled in some amazing talent. We landed two players who averaged at least 14 points per game the season prior. Both Domask and Harmon can rebound, distribute the ball, and shoot from three-point range as well.

Underwood is not about rebuilding in Champaign. He is about reloading. Illinois is going to be competitive again, and it is time for Illini Nation to get excited about the future.