WILLIAMSVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - Former Illini basketball star Marcus Domask is back in central Illinois this week hosting a summer camp for young players.
For 4 days, Marcus is giving instruction to both boys and girls from grades 1-8 on basketball skills, while creating a fun and competitive space to grow their interest in basketball.
"It's a lot of fun to give back," Marcus says. "All these kids, they watched me play and supported me, the parents supported be. So it's always good to just kind of give back and see all the people that supported me ad get a chance to return the favor a bit."
Since departing the Illinois program in 2024, Marcus spent a brief stint with the Chicago Bulls G-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. Since then, his game his taken him overseas to Europe, where he's competed in Germany and now Belgium.
While he has only been back in the U.S. for a few weeks, hosting his 3rd camp was a big item to check off his list. Williamsville High School, with their fieldhouse holding 4 basketball courts and an indoor track, was a perfect location during the IHSA's dead week.
"We're fortunate with the facilities that we have [that] we're able to do this," says Williamsville basketball head coach Nick Beard. "Our facilities were open this week and this is something that's been in the works since February. It just worked out with Marcus's schedule and it's pretty neat. It's memories that will last a lifetime for a lot of these kids."
Many of the children have big dreams of reaching an opportunity to play basketball in college when they're old enough. The camp serves as an early way to develop their game, enjoy summer, and remain active while beating the heat.
"It's great I'm learning from a professional basketball player" Eli McGraw, a camper said during the Tuesday session. "I get a bunch of tips so I can be very good in college too... I'm either trying to be like [Marcus] or [Keaton] Wagler."
Other familiar faces around Williamsville contributed to coaching the children as well. Bullets grad and current Illinois College player, Blake Schoufler, helped the crew of trainers with the various groups of kids.
"Seeing them grow up is awesome," Schoufler says. "The community here in Williamsville is so great. Working with these kids is great. They're competitive, they play hard and they listen."
Marcus says he's become more involved in the youth basketball scene, working with middle school and high school players with a former teammate from his time at Southern Illinois University. His biggest advice to parents who want to encourage their kids to keep playing basketball is make sure it stays fun.
"It's really easy for parents to try to buy-in and push them to be a Division 1 player right away, but I think first they just got to love the game," he says. "That's part of what we're trying to do here, is just showing them that basketball can just be fun. You can have fun, but you can work on it too at the same time. I think just the balance is the most important."
Copyright 2026. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
