Terrence Shannon Jr. Finds His Deep Shooting Stroke

The fifth-year senior has flaunted his improved 3-point shooting this season, but what does this mean for his NBA Draft stock?

For the fourth year in a row, people are discussing Terrence Shannon Jr. as an NBA Draft Prospect. He’s dabbled into the pre-draft process multiple times, but has always withdrawn to return to college basketball.

Shannon Jr. spent his first three seasons at Texas Tech. There, he earned All-Big 12 honors in just his sophomore season. Then after his junior year, he transferred to Illinois where he quickly earned a spot on the All-Big Ten squad. He now returns to Champaign as a fifth-year senior.

Given all his honors, it’s no surprise that Shannon Jr. has always been an amazing player. Last season he averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assist, and 1.3 steals per game. However, this year he’s increased his scoring output even more, averaging 21.6 points through the Illini’s first eight games. The biggest reason behind the 6-foot-6 wing’s improved production has been the development evaluators have been waiting to see from Shannon Jr: his three-point shooting ability.

At Texas Tech, Shannon Jr. converted just over 35% of his attempts from beyond the arc. But he was primarily a low-volume catch-and-shooter back then, only attempting 2.5 looks per contest. Last year, though, he mixed it up with his move up north. He attempted far more pull-ups and contested tries from deep. He started shooting over five 3s per game, but only made 32.1% of them. This year, Shannon Jr.’s built on his development in a big way. He’s expanded his comfort as a shooter; he’s taking shots he wouldn’t have last year. He’s drilling 45.3% of his 6.6 three-point attempts per game. These aren’t just passable numbers, they’re elite.

This improvement is so crucial for Shannon Jr. because of his other strengths on the court. He has 99th percentile speed and can finish well in traffic. He’s a menacing slasher. However, he doesn’t have the strongest handle to create driving angles for himself. If he’s this good of a shooter, he’ll draw plenty of closing out defenders, which means easy rim attacks for him.

Shannon Jr. will be 24 years old by the time he plays his first NBA game. But if he shoots the way he has recently, he’ll be able to make an impact starting day one. 

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