Shannon's case will go to trial
May 10—LAWRENCE, Kan. — The case against former Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is going to trial.
Shannon appeared in Douglas County (Kan.) District Court on Friday for a preliminary hearing where Judge Sally Pokorny found probable cause to send the case to jury trial.
A plea of not guilty was entered Friday. A pretrial conference was set for May 31, while the trial was scheduled for a June 10 start date with the possibility it could last through June 13.
"Our legal team is neither shocked nor disappointed by the outcome of this event," said Mark Sutter, one of Shannon's lawyers. "A preliminary hearing is a procedural process that merely speaks to the threshold of evidence and whether a question of fact may exist for a jury. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence. Those issues will be decided at trial, and we continue to look forward to our day in court."
Shannon was arrested in late December on a charge of rape stemming from an alleged incident in Lawrence, Kan., in early September. Initially suspended by Illinois, that decision was reversed by a federal judge after Shannon filed suit against the university.
After missing six games, he went on to finish the 2023-24 season and earned All-Big Ten honors. Illinois finished 29-9, won the Big Ten tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Shannon was a big part of the March success, winning Big Ten tournament MVP honors, and finished his last season at Illinois with a single-season school record 736 points.
All told, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound left-handed guard averaged 23.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 36 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
Shannon is set to participate in the 2024 NBA draft combine that begins Sunday in Chicago and runs through May 19. The prospective draft picks in attendance will be put through physical testing, workouts, five-on-five games and interviews during the process. The 2024 NBA draft is set for June 26-27 in New York.
