Illinois Basketball: Illini offer in-state forward Terrence Shannon Jr.

The Illinois basketball team lost a player on Monday night, but they also offered a scholarship to a different member of the class of 2019.

Terrence Shannon Jr. received that scholarship from the Illini. He is a 6-foot-7, 185-pound small forward from Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, Illinois. 247Sports doesn’t have him ranked and rated yet, but Rivals has him as a three-star recruit. Judging by the offers he already has which includes the likes of Florida State, Wake Forest and Ole Miss, I would say Shannon is probably somewhere between No. 105 and No. 120 in the nation.

Shannon is a solid player who is doing some great things during the AAU season with the Mac Irvin Fire. Through three sessions, he is averaging 13.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He is a really good shooter as well. He is a hitting his shots from the field 47.9-percent of the time and is 30.3-percent from three-point range. I also like the fact he is a great free-throw shooter. He is making his free-throws at a clip of 83.8-percent.

The recruiting sites will come out with more rankings soon, but I think Shannon should be around the top 100. This kid can play ball, and I like what he brings to the court. He seems like he will do whatever it takes to win a game.

Shannon already has the body to bang around in the paint. He can drive the ball and take a hit while putting up a shot. That is important in a tough Big Ten environment. I also like his ability to shoot from the outside as well. He isn’t afraid to take the three-point shot. This is a kid who oozes confidence. The player he most reminds me of in the NBA is Donovan Mitchell. I know the height is different, but the game is very similar.

Next: Roles of the five returning Illini players

I am on board with bringing in Shannon. Hopefully, the Illini can have enough scholarships available to land him and some of the other top players in the class of 2019.