Ex-Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. promotes T-shirt for charity poking fun at ceremony mishap
CORRECTS SPELLING OF TERRENCE - Former Illinois player Terrence Shannon Jr. is introduced to the crowd to honor his jersey number during an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan State, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Craig Pessman)
Former Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has found a way to make the best of the mishap that took place Saturday during a jersey retirement ceremony at his alma mater.
Shannon’s No. 0 jersey was upside down when it was raised to the State Farm Center rafters during a ceremony at halftime of a 79-65 loss to Michigan State on Saturday. Illinois officials apologized for the mistake.
Shannon, now a Minnesota Timberwolves rookie, addressed the matter Tuesday on social media by displaying a T-shirt making light of the incident. Shannon included a link to buy the T-shirt and said proceeds would benefit the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club, which is based in Champaign, Illinois.
The T-shirt has the message “When Life has You Upside Down, Turn It Around.” The words “Upside Down” are upside down.
In his social media message, Shannon thanked Gameday Spirit and Illinois “for helping me bring this idea to life.”
Illinois coach Brad Underwood praised Shannon for the gesture.
“I couldn’t be any more proud of the way that young man handled that situation - his moment, his moment, all the work that went into it, his moment – and then to turn it around and give it all to charity,” Underwood said after Illinois’ 95-74 loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday. “My challenges to all the great Illini fans out there, do something great and go buy that shirt. I’m going to go buy hundreds of them.”
Shannon led Illinois to an NCAA regional final and earned Associated Press All-America third-team honors last year, as he set an Illinois single-season record by scoring 736 points. The Timberwolves selected him with the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft.
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