Does Illinois Basketball Have a Lottery Pick?

Does Illinois Basketball Have a Lottery Pick?

Illinois Basketball is riding high to start December once again. Though plenty of season is left, Illinois has made quite the impression thus far. They impressed in an exhibition against Kansas. Even though they struggled on their home floor against some lesser opponents, they have had a great start to the “gauntlet” of their non-conference schedule. They dominated their first road game at one of the hardest venues in America. Illinois Basketball then impressed the country in a high-octane game at Madison Square Garden against Florida Atlantic. With that, their players are gaining some national attention.

The head of the snake is Terrrence Shannon Jr. Shannon Jr may have been an NBA draft pick in 2023, however, he chose to bet on himself to take the next step as the best player for Illinois. So far, Terrence has worked himself into the Lottery pick talk in some NBA mock drafts.

A More Comfortable Leader

Terrence Shannon Jr had spurts as the alpha of this team last year. Though his play was mostly impressive, he seemed to have some growing pains as the best player on the team. In three years at Texas Tech, Shannon Jr was mostly a role player who played 23-25 minutes a game. He had some glaring holes in his game and has really worked on it over the offseason. Through eight games this year, Terrence has averaged 21.6 points per game on 53.9 percent field goal percentage and 45.3 percent 3pt shooting percentage. He averages 3 made three-pointers a game and gets to the free-throw line at least 7 times a game.

Doing this has turned some heads. Like Ayo Dosunmu did in his junior year, Terrence has taken that next step this season. A recent mock draft by NBA draft analyst, Jonathan Wasserman, has the Chicago native going 13th in the 2024 NBA draft. The 2024 draft is admittedly weak, however, Shannon Jr would be the first lottery pick that Illinois Basketball has produced since Meyers Leonard in 2012.

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