Illinois Basketball: 5 Illini players who will outperform expectations

3. Terrence Shannon Jr.

How could Terrence Shannon Jr. possibly outperform expectations entering the 2023-24 campaign? He is already looked at as one of the best shooting guards in the country. Where could he go from here?

Let me tell you, I don’t think Shannon is just a really good player who is on a preseason award watchlist. I honestly believe he is going to come into the regular season and light the world on fire.

Shannon had career highs of 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals last season. In the Kansas exhibition game, you could clearly tell he worked on his game a lot this offseason. This looked like an energized Shannon ready to prove that he is one of the best players in the country.

I believe we are likely to see Shannon average over 20 points per game this season. He is going to light up the scoreboard early and often. He managed to accomplish this against No. 1 Kansas on Sunday, going for 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range.

Shannon has a legit shot to compete with Zach Edey for the Big Ten Player of the Year award. And you heard it here first, I think Shannon will be a contender for the Wooden Award in 2023-24. He has the 26th-best odds at 80-1 to win this honor. Let’s see Shannon outperform expectations and cement himself as one of the nation’s best players.