Illinois basketball: Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask joins the Illini

Southern Illinois forward Marcus Domask announced his decision to transfer to Illinois on Monday morning through his official Twitter:

A native of Waupun, Wisconsin, Domask was also reportedly considering the home state Badgers in his decision.

Domask was the Salukis’ on-court leader, leading Southern Illinois in points per game with 16.7, assists per game with 3.8, rebounds per game with 5.8 and overall field goal percentage with 44.7%. It was his second year leading the team in points, rebounds and assists, only the third player in school history to do so even once.

His teammate, Lance Jones, is also moving up to the Big Ten after announcing his commitment to Purdue on Sunday.

Illinois is looking to reload and retool after a mostly disappointing 2022-23 season which saw the Illini lose star freshman guard Skyy Clark midseason as the combination of homegrown players and transfer portal additions failed to mesh on a consistent basis.

Adding Domask, far and away the best player on a Southern Illinois team that plays a similar style of basketball to teams around the Big Ten, puts Illinois one step closer to a more consistent on-floor product in 2023-24.