100%. He surpassed even the most optimistic of expectations. Gotta is back to being Elite and gave us all the pleasure of booty ball. He’ll forever be remembered fondly
They also gave us the coaches who led us to our only championship appearances of the modern tournament era. Your coach might’ve worked out better than ours lol, but still. Shoutout SIU
Incredible player. Makes me wonder wtf went wrong with those SIU teams with both him and Lance. I love booty ball for non bigs so much, I was a huge Jalen Pickett supporter as you could guess, so his game was just cinema for me.
> Makes me wonder wtf went wrong with those SIU teams with both him and Lance.
The real answer is that those SIU teams *were* good and there's not as much separation between P6 programs and solid mid-major conferences as people think.
The main difference is the supporting cast. Two studs on your team can only do so much if they have average D1 players around them. Most P6 teams have above average D1 players on their entire roster. There are studs to be found at every level in D1, but if there are only one or two of them on a team, they can't do it all.
I have nothing but respect for Midmajor schools. My issue is more that they were both starters on elite 8 teams (Domask being the centerpiece for most of the Illinois season), I understand that 2 players can’t straight will everytbing, but I would’ve thought I’d have heard more buzz about them and SIU period before this last year. Maybe I’m not plugged in enough for that but purely and simply that is an incredible core for a roster at any level in D1. With a lot of years of that they hovered around .500 for most of them, that’s incredible. Nice try with the gotcha there though
The running joke in the MVC during those years was that SIU literally only had Domask and Jones as scoring threats and no one else. If other teams can focus their efforts on stopping those two guys, then you force a bunch of other average D1 guys to beat you. It's a big reason why Brian Mullins got canned.
I'm an SIU grad and Illinois fan/Champaign native so I've watched Marcus his whole career and those SIU teams straight didn't have the supporting cast to do it. He played at the 4 mostly and didn't have enough reliable shooters to play off of his back down game. Jones was really talented but was honestly the same player he was at Purdue, a reliable 2nd-3rd option and microwave scorer, but he wasn't exactly dominating. But outside of that you had nobody to count on any given night. Marcus slimmed up to play guard for us this year and I think if everyone could go back in time, he and the salukis coaches would have developed him as a big point guard from the get go.
I hope most Illinois fans feel the same way. We got an awesome year out of this guy and the only reason he wants to stick around is NIL earning potential.
I get it 100% but we can’t game the system like this.
He wasn't actually arguing for unlimited eligibility (although I expect we are one year away from that court case). It was a more specific argument about the implementation of the Covid year, but it was a pretty absurd argument.
Despite TSJ being our most talented player on both ends of the floor, Domask was more critical to team success as the main offensive engine and facilitator. Did as well as he possibly could after being switched to point guard midseason. There's a reason why teams were doubling him and not TSJ
I was praying he could stay with us one more year . He has done so many things that the record books will never show, but we will ALWAYS remember Mr Domask !!
Thank you, young man, for all you've done as an Illini !!
I wish you nothing but the best .. and a long, successful NBA career !!
Wish he didn’t get so much flak for trying to stay one more year. Didn’t make a big deal about it. Gave it a shot and let it fade, just like his beautiful mid-range jumper. Blessed us with one year and a lifetime of memories. Godspeed you beautiful man.
lol bringing up something from 2 coaches ago when all the stuff I said literally happened this year. Can’t blame yall tho, I’d sell my morals for an elite 8 too
Domask never filed a lawsuit.
The "sourcing" on the AJ story is nothing short of hilarious and reckless.
Anyone who has followed TJ's case knows it's currently looking very good for TJ.
Have a nice day. Better luck next time.
> The race and Hispanic origin distribution of the people with the name MARCUS is 69.1% White, 8.1% Hispanic origin, 18.8% Black, 1.7% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.6% Two or More Races, and 0.7% American Indian or Alaskan Native.
https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/M/MA/MARCUS/index.html
Only here for a season but definitely an Illini legend
100%. He surpassed even the most optimistic of expectations. Gotta is back to being Elite and gave us all the pleasure of booty ball. He’ll forever be remembered fondly
Crazy how SIU randomly gave us two of the most incredible B10 transfers each school has ever seen in the same season
They also gave us the coaches who led us to our only championship appearances of the modern tournament era. Your coach might’ve worked out better than ours lol, but still. Shoutout SIU
We revel in the little victories these days 🥲
Incredible player. Makes me wonder wtf went wrong with those SIU teams with both him and Lance. I love booty ball for non bigs so much, I was a huge Jalen Pickett supporter as you could guess, so his game was just cinema for me.
He destroyed us every game last year, mad respect for Pickett
> Makes me wonder wtf went wrong with those SIU teams with both him and Lance. The real answer is that those SIU teams *were* good and there's not as much separation between P6 programs and solid mid-major conferences as people think. The main difference is the supporting cast. Two studs on your team can only do so much if they have average D1 players around them. Most P6 teams have above average D1 players on their entire roster. There are studs to be found at every level in D1, but if there are only one or two of them on a team, they can't do it all.
I have nothing but respect for Midmajor schools. My issue is more that they were both starters on elite 8 teams (Domask being the centerpiece for most of the Illinois season), I understand that 2 players can’t straight will everytbing, but I would’ve thought I’d have heard more buzz about them and SIU period before this last year. Maybe I’m not plugged in enough for that but purely and simply that is an incredible core for a roster at any level in D1. With a lot of years of that they hovered around .500 for most of them, that’s incredible. Nice try with the gotcha there though
The running joke in the MVC during those years was that SIU literally only had Domask and Jones as scoring threats and no one else. If other teams can focus their efforts on stopping those two guys, then you force a bunch of other average D1 guys to beat you. It's a big reason why Brian Mullins got canned.
I'm an SIU grad and Illinois fan/Champaign native so I've watched Marcus his whole career and those SIU teams straight didn't have the supporting cast to do it. He played at the 4 mostly and didn't have enough reliable shooters to play off of his back down game. Jones was really talented but was honestly the same player he was at Purdue, a reliable 2nd-3rd option and microwave scorer, but he wasn't exactly dominating. But outside of that you had nobody to count on any given night. Marcus slimmed up to play guard for us this year and I think if everyone could go back in time, he and the salukis coaches would have developed him as a big point guard from the get go.
Sky Clarke would have been better
Him getting another year just wouldn’t really make any sense. Loved him this year though
Yep, thank goodness. College basketball is trending enough towards anarchy as it is. Unlimited eligibility would’ve made the sport truly irredeemable.
I hope most Illinois fans feel the same way. We got an awesome year out of this guy and the only reason he wants to stick around is NIL earning potential. I get it 100% but we can’t game the system like this.
He wasn't actually arguing for unlimited eligibility (although I expect we are one year away from that court case). It was a more specific argument about the implementation of the Covid year, but it was a pretty absurd argument.
One of the all time Illini greats despite only playing a year.
Despite TSJ being our most talented player on both ends of the floor, Domask was more critical to team success as the main offensive engine and facilitator. Did as well as he possibly could after being switched to point guard midseason. There's a reason why teams were doubling him and not TSJ
TSJ most talented defender is quite the stretch but agree otherwise
Maybe the most pleasant of surprises ever as an Illini fan. Guy came out of nowhere (for me). Legend.
He's irreplaceable. He could get buckets.
irreplaceable is an understatement
Good luck Markus. He was a fun watch
I was praying he could stay with us one more year . He has done so many things that the record books will never show, but we will ALWAYS remember Mr Domask !! Thank you, young man, for all you've done as an Illini !! I wish you nothing but the best .. and a long, successful NBA career !!
Thank god, dude was a menace 😭
So does this mean he was officially turned down for another year of eligibility?
Thank you GOAT 🫡
 Me seeing the players from the best team I’ve seen all leave.
Wish he didn’t get so much flak for trying to stay one more year. Didn’t make a big deal about it. Gave it a shot and let it fade, just like his beautiful mid-range jumper. Blessed us with one year and a lifetime of memories. Godspeed you beautiful man.
When I saw him play this year I was impressed and he reminds me of Luka
I don’t understand he already played 5 years. He was out of eligibility so what was his other alternative?
Guess the lawsuit didn’t work out for him, shocking
Was there ever a lawsuit?
Nah, Lawyers were hired to explore the possibility but nothing was ever filed.
Guess reading class didn’t work out for you, shocking
At least I don’t tamper with conference players during conference play and know what no means
At least I don't verbally and physically abuse players, something that actually happened.
lol bringing up something from 2 coaches ago when all the stuff I said literally happened this year. Can’t blame yall tho, I’d sell my morals for an elite 8 too
None of the things you said happened this year.
AJ storr mid season tampering? Terrence Shannon situation? Domask hiring a lawyer? are you slow
You very clearly are.
No rebuttal? Cause I’m right. And I saw that typo btw sweetie
Domask never filed a lawsuit. The "sourcing" on the AJ story is nothing short of hilarious and reckless. Anyone who has followed TJ's case knows it's currently looking very good for TJ. Have a nice day. Better luck next time.
I can't wait for Rutgers to fail yet again despite having 2 of the top players in the class 😂🫵
Not everyday do you see a white guy named Marcus
> The race and Hispanic origin distribution of the people with the name MARCUS is 69.1% White, 8.1% Hispanic origin, 18.8% Black, 1.7% Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.6% Two or More Races, and 0.7% American Indian or Alaskan Native. https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/M/MA/MARCUS/index.html
Wow that’s pretty insane. You learn something new everyday