Mar. 4 -- Terrence Shannon Jr. got a bigger opportunity with the Minnesota Timberwolves before the NBA All-Star break. What the former Illinois guard did with that opportunity -- averaging 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the final two games before the break -- led to (mostly) an even bigger role once the regular season resumed.
While Shannon went scoreless in just 6 1/2 minutes in Sunday's win against the Phoenix Suns, that remains an outlier in terms of both playing time and production in the last few weeks. Anthony Edwards putting up a 44-point game against the Suns certainly didn't help Shannon get on the court more, and the fact the other three primary rotation players that game (Donte DiVencenzo, Nickeil Alexaner-Walker and Jaylen Clark) all basically play Shannon's position didn't help get him on the court more.
But, again, a bit of an outlier. Shannon put up 17 points in his first career start against the Utah Jazz on Friday and starred against the Los Angeles Lakers before that with a season-high 25 points. Since returning from a foot injury in January and breaking into the rotation more, the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and two assists in his last 11 games.
"It's pretty cool to see that against Luka (Doncic) and LeBron (James)," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said of Shannon's performance against the Lakers. "You love seeing players get to live out their dreams. You dream about playing against LeBron and those guys -- the best of the best -- and then to go have success is remarkable.
"It's being ready for the opportunity. We had conversations all winter about making sure you're readying when your time comes, and I think he's done that really well. He's really trying to earn his way in a league that's very tough to do that. He's got his chance, and he's been great at it."