Last year, Illinois basketball star, Terrence Shannon Jr. was accused of rape and was benched by the team. Since then, he's been undergoing a long jury battle about the alleged situation. On Thursday, the verdict came in, and the jury found him innocent.

In a trial that took place in Kansas, the jury elected to name Terrence Shannon Jr. as not guilty, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. Shannon is now considered an innocent man.

“News: Terrence Shannon Jr. was just found not guilty in the high-profile rape allegation case that initially had him benched last season before he went to court against the University of Illinois to gain his eligibility back. His name was cleared by a jury in Kansas today.”

Video footage of the alleged situation did not show Terrence Shannon Jr. and the accuser ever “stood side by side as the woman described in police interviews and in court,” per Andrea Albright of The Lawrence Times.

“Surveillance video from inside the bar shown by prosecutors later in the day illustrated the chaotic scene and showed both Shannon and his accuser within feet of each other prior to the alleged incident. However, there was no video presented showing the two standing side by side as the woman described in police interviews and in court.”

With Shannon being found not guilty he's now free to enter the 2024 NBA Draft. Reports indicate that teams across the league have been paying close attention to Terrence Shannon Jr.'s trial, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Before the suspension and trial, Shannon was projected as a late-first-round pick.

“Illinois' Terrence Shannon found not guilty of charges. NBA teams have been following this case closely. Shannon was a projected top-25 pick prior to his suspension and now can move forward with the pre-draft process.”

If that's the case then Shannon should end up declaring for the NBA Draft soon. But we'll have to wait for his decision. If the league values him as a guard then declaring for the draft would be a smart decision for Terrence Shannon Jr.

Shannon played three seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Illinois. He steadily improved each season and looked like an absolute stud of a basketball player. The Illinois star averaged 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in his final season with the Fighting Illini. His 45.9 shooting percentage makes him incredibly dangerous on the court as a scorer.