Illinois is going to raise the college basketball jersey of Terrence Shannon Jr. into the rafters at State Farm Center even though he does not meet the required qualifications set by the university. Athletic director Josh Whitman is going to make a well-deserved exception on account of the guard’s not guilty verdict.
It is a rather unique decision that will make Shannon the 36th men’s player to be entered into the esteemed Honored Jersey Program.
According to criteria set by the Fighting Illini, a player selected to have his or her jersey hang in the rafter must have achieved any of the following:
- National Player of the Year
- Enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame
- Big Ten Player of the Year
- Consensus First- or Second-Team All-American
- Illinois All-Century Team Member
- Individual whose pioneering efforts made a significant impact on Illinois and international basketball
Shannon does not hit any of those first five marks. However, it is impossible to deny that he made an impact on the program during his two seasons in Champaign!
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound guard spent three years at Texas Tech and transferred to Illinois in 2022.
Shannon averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 32 minutes as a senior. He averaged 23, 4.0, and 2.3 as a fifth-year and led the team in scoring by more than seven points. The Illini reached the Elite Eight. They ultimately fell to the eventual national champion, UConn.
Whitman believes that Shannon would have met the university’s requirements if not for a legal issue that loomed over his second year with the program and final season of college basketball. A restraining order against the school itself was the only reason he was on the court during the second half of the year. Illinois actually suspended him from the team due to allegations of sexual assault and rape.
A court of law found Shannon not guilty last week. Evidence suggested that the claims against him were a hoax.
Shannon likely would have been a First-Team All-American if not for the legal saga.
Obviously he doesn’t meet the objective criteria that we have outlined for consideration with the jersey program, but I think we all recognize that without question that Terrence was one of the top 10 players in America this year; probably one of the top two or three players in America.
He had one of the greatest single seasons in the history of Illinois Basketball. Arguably, the greatest season in the history of Illinois Basketball.
We all understand that there were, now, factors beyond his control that prevented those votes from being where they needed to be in order for him to satisfy the criteria, and we’re happy to make an exception in this case to recognize one of the great players that our program has ever seen.
— Illinois AD Josh Whitman
Illinois will welcome Terrence Shannon Jr. back to campus at a date to be announced and celebrate him in front of 15,000 fans. His No. 0 jersey will be retired!