Illinois hoops star Terrence Shannon Jr. arrested on rape charge

University of Illinois men’s basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. was arrested Thursday on a rape charge and has been suspended from the program, the school announced.

A warrant for his arrest was issued Wednesday by the Douglas County District Attorney in Kansas after an alleged incident on Sept. 8 while Shannon was in Lawrence for the Illinois-Kansas football game.

Shannon, 23, traveled to Lawrence on Thursday to turn himself in, posted $50,000 bail and is returning to Champaign, per the Associated Press.

Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was arrested Thursday on a rape charge. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConThe University and DIA Division of Intercollegiate Athletics have shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement. At the same time, DIA policy affords student-athletes appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the University and the involved parties.

School officials were aware of a police investigation into Shannon since the end of September, but the university said in its release it had yet to receive actionable information until Wednesday.

The fifth-year senior, who’s a Chicago native, is considered an All-American candidate for Illinois, which is ranked No. 11 in the country.

Attorney Mark Sutter said Shannon is “innocent.”

Since September, when these allegations surfaced, Terrence has cooperated with law enforcement throughout the investigation, declaring his innocence from the beginning, Sutter said in a statement, per the AP. Now, several months later, my office learned that formal charges were filed against him yesterday in Lawrence, KS. In less than 24 hours, my client responded, and he voluntarily surrendered to local authorities for processing and release. Terrence is innocent of these charges, and he intends to take his case to trial.

Terrence Shannon Jr. (0) playing in Illinois’ most recent game against Missouri on Dec. 22, 2023. APShannon is averaging 21.7 points per game, which is tied for the eighth-best average in the country, along with 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

The guard has played in all 11 games this season for Illinois (9-2).

He played three years at Texas Tech before transferring to Illinois for the 2022-23 season and was named First-Team All-Big Ten last season.