Illinois basketball player Terrence Shannon Jr. was recently acquitted from charges of rape and aggravated sexual assault which in result has reportedly boosted his status in terms of the upcoming NBA Draft. This was mentioned by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN as the initial case surrounding the controversial basketball player was being followed “closely” by a number of NBA teams.
“Shannon was acquitted last week and found not guilty of rape and sexual battery charges, a case NBA teams had been following closely,” the two wrote in their mock draft. “The clarity offered by the court ruling should put front offices and ownership groups at ease, and it reopens a path for Shannon back into the first round, where he will now conduct workouts for a handful of teams going into draft night.”
“It's quite possible Shannon hears his name called well before this pick at No. 27, with many teams in the top 25 expressing interest,” the two continued. “He has an opportunity to work his way up the board in the days to come. His athletic tools have always been NBA-caliber, but his development at Illinois into a more consistent two-way contributor helped raise the perception around his floor as a useful rotation player.”
As said in their writing, they would have the Minnesota Timberwolves taking Shannon Jr. with the 27th overall pick, but because of his acquittal, he will be working out with NBA teams in hopes of being drafted in the first round.
Terrence Shannon Jr. plead his innocence from the beginning
It has been a long journey for Shannon Jr. as he was arrested in December for the aforementioned charges for an incident that allegedly took place in September. He turned himself in late December where he was released on bail as in early January, he wrote the University of Illinois' student-athlete conduct panel a more than 1,300 word letter pleading his innocence.
“As to the criminal charges against me, I am declaring my innocence, as I did back in September,” a part of the letter wrote by Shannon to the university via CBS Sports. “I have totally cooperated with that process and will continue to do so. While I appreciate my lawyers and their ability to fight the case in court, I know that the criminal justice system takes time. So my day in court will not come about for a long time, most likely long after the NBA Draft, and I may not be cleared of the charges until it's too late.
“The harm that I will suffer from an immediate suspension can never be undone, and I will never have this opportunity to further my collegiate career or fulfill my lifelong dream to play in the NBA,” Shannon continued. “Going forward, I want nothing more than to play basketball for the University of Illinois, and I remain hopeful that my due process rights will be honored and allow for a full reinstatement while this case is pending.”
Shannon Jr.'s outcome should boost his draft status
In terms of the actions taken by the university, they conducted an investigation of their own where they suspended Shannon Jr. for what ended up being six games as he “retained a temporary restraining order” according to ESPN. He would come back to the team and finish off the season with them in the national tournament where they were eliminated by UConn in the Elite Eight.
The school eventually couldn't find enough evidence and dropped the investigation which then succeeded the events of recent with the court case. One of Shannon Jr.'s attorneys in Mark Sutter said that the “public at-large” owes an apology to the 23-year old NBA prospect.
“We're happy with the outcome,” Sutter said. “Terrence Shannon Jr. finally got his day in court. We denied the allegations back in September and on that date, we pledged that one day soon, we would have our day in court and we did. And we're happy with the outcome. And, at the end of the day, I think the public at-large owes Shannon Jr. an apology.”
“He's a good kid and we had a lot of really good character witnesses in addition to the investigation and the challenge of all the evidence, or lack thereof,” Sutter continued. “It was a nice turnout for him.”
Last season, Shannon Jr. averaged 23 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field. It will be intriguing to see where he eventually goes in the NBA Draft later this month as with the court case being dropped, his stock should rise as it did in ClutchPoints NBA Insider Brett Siegel's last big board.
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