Naperville native Domercant named Windy City Bulls head coach
When it comes to having a wide variety of coaching influences, it's hard to top Henry Domercant. He's like a one-man Epcot Center of basketball.
The Naperville native, who will serve as head coach of the G-League's Windy City Bulls this season, played for nine different professional teams across Europe, a national team and a G-League team, not to mention his time at Eastern Illinois and Naperville North High School.
"I've had some really good coaches, in Europe and the States and I want to pull from all of them," Domercant said. "I like to think I have a fairly diverse basketball background."
After returning to the States, Domercant spent two years as a Windy City assistant and was a player development coach for the Bulls last year.
The Windy City Bulls will return to Hoffman Estates, in the building now known as Now Arena, after more than a year off due to the pandemic. The home opener is set for Nov. 17.
"I'm so excited. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity," Domercant said. "It's an opportunity for me to be around the game that I love. It's also an opportunity for me to serve others into greatness. I believe leadership is service and I want to create an atmosphere that is conducive to growth and development.
"I feel like I've been fortunate to have coaches who really invested in me on and off the court, just helping me become a man, helping me grow into a positive person in society. I would love to influence young men to do the same and kind of pay it forward and help the next generation of players."
As is typical of the G-League, Domercant really has no idea which players he'll be coaching this season outside of returning two-way player Devon Dotson. The Bulls' second two-way slot is still open. The players in training camp with the Bulls who don't make the final roster are candidates to play for Windy City.
But Domercant plans to operate as a farm team and use the same systems and philosophies as Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
"For sure, I want to transfer the DNA from the Bulls to the Windy City Bulls," he said. "I think that's best for the players, since we'll have assignment players, players that are going to go up and down."
And after all his travels and tribulations in professional basketball, Domercant knows one secret to surviving in the G-League.
"One thing I'll communicate to our players: If everything has to be right or you have to be comfortable for you to play well and for the game to go well," he said. "Then you're not going to have much success in this league."
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