Former Texas Tech basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. has career night in NBA

One of the ones that got away from Texas Tech is now starting to figure it out in the NBA. Former Red Raider Terrence Shannon Jr. had a career night on Thursday scoring a team-high 25 points and grabbing five rebounds as his Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in L.A. 111-102.

Coming off the bench to play 29 minutes, Shannon was 9-15 from the floor (1-3 from 3-point range) and 6-6 from the free-throw line. It was his second solid effort in a row. Monday, he scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench to help Minnesota secure a 131-128 OT win over the team with the best record in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It has been a bit of a slow burn for the rookie this season. After being selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the first round of last summer's NBA Draft, he has played in only 20 games thus far.

Shannon is averaging 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game while playing 11.3 minutes per contest. However, he appears to be settling into a nice bench role for the T-Wolves.

In his last eight appearances, he's logged at least 13 minutes of action. During that span, he has scored in double figures four times.

Of course, Texas Tech fans were pained to see Shannon leave the program after the 2021-22 season, his third as a Red Raider. During his Tech career, he became a fan-favorite while appearing in 83 games averaging 11 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Shannon was known in Lubbock for his off-the-charts athleticism and his high-flying breakaway dunks that brought the house down. However, he decided to head back to his native Illinois and play for the Fighting Illini for the final two seasons of his college career.

In those two seasons, he became one of the best players in America. In 2022-23, the Chicago product put up 17.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Then, as a senior, he averaged 23 points and 4 rebounds per game, earning All-American honors.

Shannon was so successful at Illinois that the program recently retired his number. However, that ceremony made national news for the wrong reason as when the banner of his jersey was unveiled at an Illinois home game, it was hung upside down.

Shannon took that mishap in stride and laughed it off. That's because he's got bigger things ahead of him.

Now that he's starting to figure out the NBA, it looks like he might stick around that league for a while. Though he didn't finish he career as a Red Raider, most folks in Scarlet and Black remember Shannon's time in Lubbock fondly and are rooting for him to have a long and successful NBA career.