Illinois mistakenly retires Terrence Shannon Jr. jersey upside down
The Illinois Fighting Illini got to honor one of their basketball legends on Saturday night. Fans in attendance for the Illinois-Michigan State game got to see Terrance Shannon Jr.’s jersey get retired and lifted to the rafters. There was just one little mistake the people running the ceremony made. They had the jersey upside down when they unveiled it.
Shannon spent the past two seasons with the Fighting Illini after playing his first three at Texas Tech. He averaged a career-high 23.0 points — ranking third in the country — on 47.5% shooting and 36.2% from 3-point range. The 6-foot-6 guard topped the 30-point mark seven times, including scoring 34 in the Big Ten Tournament Championship against Wisconsin. During their run to the Big Ten Tournament title, Shannon poured in 102 points over three games, while leading them to the crown.
Shannon helped carry Illinois to the Elite Eight last year, before falling to eventual champion UConn. He averaged 23.3 points and 3.3 assists during his four games in the NCAA Tournament. He also shattered the Illinois single-season scoring record with 736 points.
Shannon joins a very lengthy list of members that have had their jerseys retired. A few of the most recent names to get their jerseys raised to the rafters are Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu. You can find the criteria for the University of Illinois retiring a former players’ jersey here.
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Michigan State handled Illinois comfortably on Saturday night, winning 79-65. Jaxon Kohler was dominant inside, pouring in 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He also had two steals and one block. Jase Richardson also chipped in 11 points and three rebounds for Michigan State. Electrifying sophomore Coen Carr had 10 points and four rebounds for the Spartans. Tre Holloman also dumped in 14 points in 26 minutes of work.
Illinois had three players in double-figures, Morez Johnson, Jr. (17 points), Kasparas Jakucionis (17 points), and Will Riley (13 points).
The 11th-ranked Spartans moved to 20-5 overall and 11-3 in the Big Ten. Illinois dropped to 17-9 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten.
Justin Rudolph also contributed to this article.