After a five-year career, one of college basketball’s most controversial stars, Terrence Shannon Jr. has finally entered the NBA Draft. Shannon started his career at Texas Tech, before transferring to Illinois for his final two seasons.
Terrence Shannon Jr. 2024 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Shannon’s college career was filled with awards and accolades. He was made the all-conference team once in the Big 12 and twice in the Big Ten. He was also on the all-freshman team in the Big 12. Illinois also won the Big Ten Tournament in 2024 and Shannon was named the tournament’s MVP. Needless to say, he has had a successful career. Shannon has always been an elite scorer. He averaged 15.0 points per game in his career and over 20 in the most recent season.
Strengths
Scoring has always been the biggest strength of Shannon’s game. As a freshman, he averaged nearly 10 points per game, which has increased yearly. His ability to create his shot is what sets him apart. He can score at all three levels and is especially good at getting to the rim.
Another major selling point to his game is his athleticism. Shannon is fast and can jump out of the gym. He is constantly putting out constant highlight reel dunks. This is one of the bigger selling points for him in regards to his NBA prospects. Many scouts believe this athleticism can be used by NBA teams to truly improve his game.
Weaknesses
A big weakness in Shannon’s game is his three-point shooting. He is a career 34% shooter from beyond the arc. While this is a respectable number, it is not quite up to par with most wing players in the NBA. He did shoot 38% during his junior year of college, which is good. If he can shoot like that, he will be great at the next level.
Shannon also brings questions on defense. Throughout college, he was an average to below-average defender. He never put up great steal or block numbers. In addition to the stats, he isn’t very long, which hurts his defensive abilities.
However, the biggest weakness for Shannon is his age. He has played in college for five years and will be 24 by the time the season starts. NBA teams tend to stay away from older prospects as they want to be able to develop their talent.
NBA Comparison
A good pro comparison for Shannon is Kelly Oubre Jr. Neither player offers much in the way of playmaking or defense, but they are great scorers. Both players are also both below-average three-point shooters.
Another comparison for Shannon is Donovan Mitchell. This could be Shannon’s NBA ceiling. Mitchell is more of a guard, but they have similar playstyles. If Shannon can play to his highest potential, then Mitchell would be a good comparison.
2024 NBA Draft Projection
Shannon will likely go in the late first round. Most likely in the high twenties. He could fall to the start of the second round, but it would likely be in the first few picks of the second round.
