Brad Underwood releases statement on Terrence Shannon Jr. being found not guilty

On Thursday, Terrence Shannon Jr. was found not guilty on both charges in a rape case stemming from a September incident in Kansas. Only hours later, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood released a statement on the trial’s result.

“I am thrilled for Terrence with the news of today’s verdict,” Underwood wrote, per Jon Rothstein. “Under six months of intense scrutiny, Terrence has shown tremendous composure, maturity, and focus. He can now put this behind him and move forward with his life. I, along with everyone in our Illinois Basketball program, will continue to offer Terrence our full support as he looks to fulfill his NBA dreams.”

Underwood isn’t the only one excited for the Illinois standout. Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman also released a statement celebrating the verdict.

“All of us who know and care about Terrence breathed a tremendous sigh of relief with the announcement of today’s not guilty verdict,” Whitman wrote. This has been a very serious and unfortunate situation for all parties involved, and I am happy for Terrence that it has been resolved and his name has been cleared. We look forward to cheering for him as he begins his NBA journey.”

More on Terrence Shannon Jr.’s trial

The jury found Shannon not guilty on both rape and aggravated sexual battery charges. The State of Kansas v. Terrence Shannon Jr. trial began this week in Douglas County and included testimony from the alleged victim, who said a man grabbed her at a bar and sexually assaulted her.

In a separate testimony, text messages were revealed from a group chat including the alleged victim, her friend and two others. The texts showed one person sharing a link to an article about Shannon’s suspension at Illinois with another message saying “Got his ass” with two emojis with dollar signs for tongues.

Shannon’s legal team also petitioned to submit mistaken-identity evidence prior to the trial, saying a “third-party defendant” was investigated for the alleged actions against the other woman, but the charges were dropped.

Shannon was a key piece for Illinois this past season, leading the Fighting Illini with 23 points per game en route to an Elite Eight appearance. He was suspended when the charges came to light, but a judge granted a temporary restraining order allowing him to play the rest of the season.

Shannon was making a strong case for an All-American selection at the time of his suspension, and he declared for the NBA Draft after the season. He recently came in as the No. 33 overall pick in ESPN’s Jonathan Givony’s most recent mock draft, and On3’s James Fletcher III ranked Shannon as his No. 27 overall prospect in his latest big board.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.