Why was Terrence Shannon Jr. suspended? Illinois guard lands in deep trouble over rape charges

Illinois Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has been suspended due to some off-court illegal issues, as per reports. On Wednesday, the Douglas County District Attorney issued a warrant out for Terrence Shannon Jr's arrest after being charged with rape.

CBS Sport's college basketball insider Jon Rothstein posted the details that we know of, as of this writing.

The charge dates back to a college football game back in September, following which, the University of Illinois issued a statement that reads:

"On Wednesday, the Douglas (Kansas) County District Attorney issued a warrent for the arrest of Terrence Shannon Jr. Per policy, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) has suspended Shannon from all team activities, effective imediately. Shannon is charged with rape, as defined under applicable Kansas law. The alleged incident occurred while Shannon visitied Lawrence, Kansas, to attend the Illinois at Kansas football game, played on the evening of Friday, Sept. 8, as a spectator. He was not in Lawrence on offical University business, nor was he a member of the University's travel party."

Later in the statement, they mentioned how they knew of the incident, but gave reasoning as to why no suspension has been made in the 3.5 months since the alleged incident occurred.

"DIA and Urbana campus officials have been aware of a Lawrence police investigation into Shannon since late September but, until Wednesday, had yet to receive actionable information. Shannon's arrest triggers the DIA student-athlete misconduct policy. Under that policy, Shannon has been immediately suspended from all team activities. Any change to Shannon's status will be communicated in a timely manner."

How will the Terrence Shannon Jr. suspension affect the Illinois Fighting Illini?

Terrence Shannon Jr. being suspended is a massive blow on the court for the Illini Fighting Illini. His 21.7 points per game is eighth in the country, making the rotations for the Fighting Illini much tougher to handle.

Shannon Jr. has been the key offensive piece for the program and is also a veteran leader, being a senior. He leads the program in points per game (21.7), assists per game (2.5), steals per game (1.0), blocks per game (1.3) and shooting percentage (51.4).

It is uncertain if Shannon will return to the team or how long this suspension will last. Thus, the Fighting Illini need to figure out how to play without their best player for potentially a significant amount of time.