Illinois' Marcus Domask is the portal pickup of the year

BOSTON — As far as portal pickups go, Marcus Domask is the standard.

Looking at the remaining NCAA Tournament teams, few transfer players are having as significant an impact as Domask, and it's understandable why.

Finding a player who can seamlessly transition into a new system is no easy feat. It's even more challenging when a player only has one year — like Domask, who is in his fifth year — to make his mark. Yet, here is this 6-6 swingman from Wisconsin helping lead the Illini on their best tournament run in nearly two decades.

How?

"He was really good when we got him," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. "He was a 1,600 point scorer, probably close to a 2,000 point scorer had he not gotten hurt [in 2020-21]. He's been a professional in terms of his approach, commitment, dedication and his willingness to adjust to anything."

There has been zero dropoff from Domask in his single season at Illinois following four at Southern Illinois.

According to his former coach, Bryan Mullins — who was recently hired to the staff of new DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann — this is a testament to his preparedness. It's a quality Mullins saw in him when he arrived in Carbondale in 2019.

"His feel for the game is his greatest skill," Mullins said. "He was physical and strong enough to play as a true freshman. I didn't know he was going to have the freshman season that he ended up having for us."

In his first season with Southern Illinois, Domask averaged 13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Salukis. By his senior season, he was averaging 16.7 points per game shooting 44.7% from the field and 34.8% from three.

Domask and Mullins talked at length about his decision to leave Southern, which was rooted in a desire to do exactly what he is now — compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, the decision to enter the transfer portal comes with risks.

"Trying to put [a transfer player] in the best position to succeed [is the challenge]," Mullins said. "When you get a one-year kid, you don't have the years of practice with them, running plays and understanding where he is the most successful. Trying to figure out with the guys that we have, now we add a new piece and we only have him for nine months. How can we make sure we're using our guys to the best of their ability?"

The key for Underwood has been taking advantage of Domask's versatility.

When he was at Southern, he primarily played the power forward position. In Underwood's system, he's been utilized as a point guard, on the wing and in the paint.

Terrance Shannon Jr. has been the star of the Illini's Elite Eight run, but Domask has proven himself to be the missing link Underwood needed to get his team past the first round of the tournament. Domask is the Illini's second-leading scorer behind Shannon, averaging 16.1 points, five rebounds and four assists.

He attributes his successful transition to Underwood's coaching style.

"He treats us more as a professional team than a college team," Domask said. We're an older team, and he kind of — he allows us to be more player-led than coach-led. He gives us that leeway to control our own destiny and how we operate some things. He puts a lot of trust in us. I think the trust he's put in us just kind of reflects our trust in him, and it's just kind of a two-way street."

A look back at last year's transfer portal rankings shows Domask wasn't even among the top 50 transfer prospects on many lists. Lucky for the Illini, Underwood doesn't recruit based on college basketball pundits' rankings.

The NCAA Tournament field will be reduced to eight by Saturday morning.

While those eight focus on keeping their runs alive, every other team in the country will be attempting to find its own Domask in the portal.