Illinois Issues Apology After Hanging Terrence Shannon Jr. Jersey Upside Down In Retirement Ceremony

The University of Illinois honored Terrence Shannon Jr. by retiring his No. 0 jersey on Saturday. But things didn't quite go as planned.

As Shannon pulled the cord at halftime to unveil the banner that will now hang in the State Farm Center, cheers and applause turned to gasps and laughs from the crowd. The banner was upside down.

WATCH:

You had one job, banner hanger guy!

Fortunately, Shannon was a good sport about the blunder. But it was an embarrassing situation for the Illini. After the game — a 79-65 loss to No. 11 Michigan State — Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman issued a public apology.

"Before we get into the substance of the game tonight, obviously, we had a regrettable situation at halftime with the jersey around [Shannon's] celebration," Whitman said. "Obviously, a really regrettable moment. It's a shame that 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 need to make sure we understand that in life, mistakes happen. But there are also certain moments where mistakes can't happen. And tonight, we stole that moment from [Shannon] and that's on us and something that we have apologized to him for, apologized to his mom. We want to make sure that we apologize to our fans and everybody who was excited to be a part of this experience tonight."

Shannon broke Illinois' single-season scoring record last year, 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-foot-6 guard averaged 23 points, which was second only to Purdue's Zach Edey in the Big Ten.

Because he spent his first three college seasons at Texas Tech, Shannon was surprised Illinois chose to retire his jersey.

"I was shocked because I was only here for two years," he told local media before the ceremony. "I was just happy. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to get my jersey up there."

Illinois honored Terrence Shannon Jr. with an accidentally upside down banner.

(Getty Images)

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Shannon with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Thanks to the NBA's All-Star Weekend, Shannon had a chance to make the trip to Champaign for the jersey retirement ceremony.