Terrence Shannon Jr. has Illinois jersey mistakenly retired upside down

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The NBA is on it’s All-Star break, which means players who didn’t participate in last weekend's festivities either took short vacations, saw family or went back to places they previously played.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ guard Terrence Shannon Jr. went back to his alma mater, Illinois, on Saturday as they hosted Michigan State. He spent only two seasons with the Illini, but he did enough to get his jersey hung in the rafters. But the ceremony went horribly wrong.

What happened?

Why it matters: Shannon was honored at halftime with his family standing by, and his Illinois jersey about to be revealed. The only problem? It was rolled out upside down. He appeared to take it in stride, saying after the fact he was shocked just to have it retired.

Shannon averaged 23 points per game at Illinois and led the program to an Elite 8 appearance. He was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten pick and was the Big Ten Tournament MVP last season.

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

Illinois AD owns up to mistake

What we know: Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman addressed the mistake postgame before coach Brad Underwood and select players spoke with the media after playing the Spartans. Whitman wasn’t in a laughing mood, taking the mistake particularly hard.

"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," Whitman said. "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."

What we don’t know: How the jersey ended up being upside down to begin with. The mistake was fixed, and Shannon was able to get a photo with his mom and Underwood with the jersey properly right side up.

Timberwolves draft Shannon

Why it matters: The Timberwolves clearly believe Shannon has a bright future in the NBA. They moved up to the No. 27 pick in the first round to get him, after drafting Rob Dillingham. Shannon has played in 16 games and is averaging 3.1 points per game. 

The Timberwolves are 31-25 and in the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference. With 26 regular season games left, they’re one game out of the No. 6 spot and three games out of the No. 5 spot. They also have only a 2.5 game cushion on the No. 10 spot. The Timberwolves would need to finish no worse than the No. 6 spot in the West to avoid a play-in series for the playoffs.