The Illinois men's basketball team is off to a 9-2 start and is firmly in the top 25. However, the Illini got some unfortunate news regarding star guard and leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. Shannon has been charged with rape and is suspended from the team, per Derek Piper of 247Sports.

‘Illini All-American candidate Terrence Shannon Jr. has been suspended from the team after being charged with rape'

The alleged incident occurred in Lawrence, Kansas when Shannon was there to attend the Illinois-Kansas football game on September 8.

The warrant was issued on Wednesday, and Shannon went to Lawrence to present himself to authorities, per Jon Rothstein.

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‘On Wednesday, the Douglas (Kansas) County District Attorney issued a warrant for Shannon's arrest. Shannon traveled to Lawrence, where he presented himself to authorities.'

Shannon has easily been the best player on the Illinois basketball team this season. He is averaging 21.7 PPG with 4.5 rebounds and just scored 30 points in the win over Missouri on December 22, so this is a crushing loss to the Illini team with Big Ten Conference play right around the corner.

Shannon is in his second season with the Illinois basketball team after transferring from Texas Tech, and the Illini were expected to be massive contenders in the Big Ten.

They face Fairleigh Dickinson, the team that stunned Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, before beginning conference play with a game against Northwestern at home and then a January 5 showdown against Purdue on the road, and it's looking as if Shannon won't be there anytime soon.