Terrence Shannon Jr. speaks at NBA Draft Combine; first public comments since December rape charge

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In Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine and speaking publicly for the first time since his December arrest on charges of rape in Kansas, former Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. said he’s had a “very interesting five months.”

A soft-spoken, guarded Shannon, 23, took long pauses as he answered questions from media at the Marriott Marquis adjacent to Wintrust Arena. He has been ordered to stand trial June 10 in Douglas County, Kansas, on first-degree felony rape and felony sexual aggravated battery charges stemming from an alleged incident on Sept. 9 in which a woman accused him of sexually penetrating her with his fingers at a bar in Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas. Shannon pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing last week.

“Obviously, it’s a real serious accusation, and I’m aware of that,” he said, “but I can’t go into much detail about it.”

Asked if he expected to be cleared at trial, he said, “I don’t know, [but] I’m looking forward to my day in court.”

Originally considered a likely first-round pick in the June 27 draft, Shannon — who is from Chicago and played at Lincoln Park — has slipped into the second round in some projections. Due to what he termed a strained hamstring, Shannon, who has been training in Los Angeles, will not participate in combine drills or scrimmages. Still, he’ll be heavily scrutinized by NBA teams in interviews during the week.

What does he hope to convey to them?

“Just explain what kind of person I am,” he said. “I feel like I’m a good kid, funny. I make sure everybody’s good and I take care of everybody around me. …

“I feel like I bring intensity and really high character. I compete at the highest level, and I’m never going to take any days off. I’m a hard worker, and I’m willing to do whatever [it takes] for any team. Whatever they need me to do, I’m willing to do it.”

After being suspended indefinitely by Illinois and missing six games, Shannon won a federal case to have his suspension overturned and led the Illini to a Big Ten tournament championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The lefty guard — who calls himself “the best two-way player in the draft” — averaged 27.9 points over his final seven games and finished the season as the nation’s third-leading scorer.

After returning to the court in January, he faced boos and “No means no!” chants — and worse — from opposing fans and bands but was able to “just tune it out,” he said.

“We won, so I enjoyed it,” Shannon said. “I mean, as long as I’m getting to play basketball, I’m happy. Just being out there with my brothers and having Coach Brad [Underwood] coach me, I was happy.”

Shannon said he’s doing “perfectly fine mentally.”

“I’m controlling what I can control,” he said, “and that’s handling things day-to-day, that’s putting the work in and getting ready for my dream to play in the NBA.”

Contributing: Kyle Williams