Shannon plays after judge’s ruling, assists Illini win
Jan 21, 2024, 04:17 PM ET Terrence Shannon Jr., in his very first game back after a judge’s ruling permitted him to rejoin No. 14 Illinois, scored 16 points in an 86-63 success over Rutgers on Sunday.Shannon came off
the bench and played 28 minutes. He had 4 assists and made 8 of 10 shots from the free toss line.He was suspended by the university on Dec. 28 after he was apprehended on a felony rape charge for an alleged September event in Lawrence, Kansas. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless, nevertheless, ruled Friday that the university had actually violated Shannon’s civil liberties and approved a preliminary injunction that required Illinois to renew Shannon to the team.Editor’s Picks 1 Related An initial hearing in the criminal case has been set for Feb. 23. Illini fans revealed support for Shannon
by cheering when he got in the court for pregame warmups and offering him a standing ovation when he checked into the game with 17:37 to enter the first half. “Our team feels whole once again,”colleague Justin Harmon said after the game.” We have our finest player back.”Illinois coach Brad Underwood said he was pleased with Shannon’s performance considering he had not practiced with the team or played for 3 weeks. “You could tell he was tired sometimes,
“Underwood stated.”He incorporated in a good method. He was quite strong.”Shannon’s legal representatives had actually asked for the injunction earlier this month, declaring
the school had made a” rush to judgment” and utilized an “unreasonable”process when it made the decision to suspend Shannon forever late last month after a warrant was provided for his arrest. A lady at a bar declared that Shannon had wrongly touched her and sexually attacked her.The Illini(14-4, 5-2 Big 10)were 4-2 in six games without Shannon, who had not played because Illinois ’97-73 success over Missouri in St. Louis on Dec. 22. Illinois next plays Wednesday at Northwestern.ESPN’s Myron Medcalf and The Associated Press added to this report.