Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman offered up a heartfelt apology Saturday night after the jersey retirement ceremony of Terrence Shannon Jr. went sideways — er, upside down, rather — when the unveiling of his jersey to be hung in the rafters unfurled facing the wrong direction.
Cheers from inside the State Farm Center turned to laughs and gasps as the assembled patrons took stock of the error. Shannon seemed to take the snafu in stride, offering a smile as he looked up at the banner, but Whitman was distressed and remorseful for what he called a “really regrettable moment.”
“Obviously, we had a regrettable situation at halftime with the jersey around Terrence’s celebration,” Whitman said. “Really regrettable moment. It’s ashamed it happened that way. Of course, I didn’t hang the jersey, but I’m ultimately responsible for everything that happens in this building, and ultimately that means that was on me tonight.
“We understand that in life, mistakes happen,” he continued. “But there are also certain moments where mistakes can’t happen. Tonight we stole that moment from Terrence. That’s on us. We’ve apologized to him, to his mom, and we want to make sure we apologize to our fans and everyone who was excited to be a part of this experience tonight.”
Shannon broke Illinois’ single season scoring record last season, finishing with 736 points while leading the Illini to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a spot in the Elite Eight. The 6-6 guard averaged 23 points, which was second only National Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue in the Big Ten.
Shannon spent his first three college seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Illinois for the 2022-23 season and immediately becoming the Illini’s leading scorer at 17.2 points per game. He took his game to new heights last season, earning himself permanent enshrinement among other Illinois program legends.
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Shannon with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He’s appeared in 16 games as a rookie. With the NBA on its All-Star break, Saturday was a natural time for the Illini to honor their former star.
If there’s a silver lining here it’s that Shannon’s jersey was able to be flipped right side up and fixed, so the upside down No. 0 won’t live on facing downward forever. But the shocking unveiling of it being upside down will unfortunately live on in the echo chambers of the internet and souring what was supposed to be a special night for an Illini legend.
“I had some spirited conversations during the second half so that the right people knew the level of disappointment and frustration we felt in that moment,” Whitman added. “Hopefully, in the lens of history, that won’t do anything to diminish, of course, what [Shannon] accomplished here and what this evening was meant to be for him and for the legacy of Illinois basketball.”
