Terrence Shannon Jr. makes first public comment in nearly five months after rape charge in Kansas: “I’m looking forward to my day in court”

CHICAGO (WCIA) — The pause lasted several seconds as Terrence Shannon Jr. thought about what to say. The former Illinois basketball player almost had trouble finding the right words when asked what the past five months have been like for him.

“Interesting five months I would say,” he responded about 15 seconds later.

It was the first public comment from Shannon since Dec. 22. He dropped a game high 30 points that night in a Braggin’ Rights win over Missouri in St. Louis, but has been silent in the media since, following a rape charge in Kansas. Shannon met with reporters for the first time since on Tuesday at the NBA Combine in Chicago, spending about 25 minutes with reporters as part of a requirement from the league for all players at the event.

Shannon is facing a felony rape charge in Kansas from an incident police say happened in a Lawrence bar in September. A woman accuses the All-American guard of inappropriately touching her at the Jayhawk Cafe. A warrant was issued for his arrest in December. He turned himself in and posted $50,000 bail. He was immediately suspended from all team activities by the University of Illinois.

“I can’t really talk much about it but I’m looking forward to my day in court,” Shannon said on Tuesday about his criminal case.

That day in court is scheduled for June 10th in Douglas County (KS), where Shannon will face a jury trial, just two weeks before the NBA Draft on June 26. He traveled to Lawrence last week for a preliminary hearing, where Judge Sally Pokorny determined there was sufficient probable cause for the case to move forward. Shannon entered a not guilty plea to the rape charge. He’s also facing a recently elevated aggravated sexual battery charge. If convicted, he faces prison time ranging from a minimum of 147 months to a maximum of 653 months in prison and/or a fine up to $300,000, on the felony rape charge.

“Obviously it’s a real serious accusation and I’m aware of that and I can’t go into much detail about it,” Shannon said. “I’m just focused on what I can control and that’s basketball and what I do on the court, in the weight room, with my family.”

Shannon didn’t work out at the NBA Combine on Monday. A strained hamstring while working out getting ready for the trip to Chicago has sidelined him for now. But Shannon says his game is ready for the next level. He’s projected as the No. 33 overall player in the draft, according to ESPN.

“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in this draft,” he said. “Defensively I feel like I can limit and shut down guys, the top scorers on the opposite team and I can also score as well on the other end and I felt like I showed that pretty well this year.”

The fact Terrence got back on the court in January after an indefinite suspension was a game changer in terms of his basketball career. Shannon took the U of I to federal court and was granted a temporary injunction to play, after missing six games. He led Illinois back to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 19 years, losing to UConn in the Elite Eight.

“I felt like I did what I could,” Shannon said. “I felt like I maximized my efforts at Illinois and did everything I can do to put our team in the right position. Us collectively, not just me. I felt like we did everything we could do to win.”

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