Teddy Allen no longer with Nebraska basketball program
Six days after putting together one of the most impressive individual performances in program history, Teddy Allen’s career at Nebraska came to an end.
The junior guard who joined the Huskers as a transfer from Western Nebraska C.C. this offseason officially parted ways with the team on Monday.
“I would like to thank Coach Hoiberg and his coaching staff for allowing me to come back to Nebraska and have the opportunity to play basketball in the best conference in the country” Allen said in a release. “I appreciate the support I’ve received from everyone in the program. I am thankful for the love I have received from my teammates and the relationships we have built over the last year. I also want to give a special thank you to the Husker fans for their encouragement and support.
“After a lot of thought over the last few days, I have made the decision to focus on getting fully healthy in preparation for the next step in my basketball journey. I will continue to stay at Nebraska for the spring semester and work toward graduation. I am looking forward to what the future holds, as I explore my options.”
“I enjoyed the opportunity to coach Teddy over the past year,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We will support him as he finishes the spring semester and wish him nothing but the best going forward.”
Allen, who leads NU and ranks sixth in the Big Ten in scoring at 16.5 points per game, was benched per head coach Fred Hoiberg’s decision for the game at Minnesota on Feb. 8.
He quickly bounced back to set a Pinnacle Bank Arena record with 41 points along with eight rebounds and six assists against Penn State on Feb. 23. His 41 points were just shy of matching the school's single-game record of 42 set by Eric Piatkowski in 1994.
But in Nebraska’s win over Minnesota on Saturday night, the former 2017 Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year at Boys Town played just a season-low 10 minutes. He was held scoreless for the first time as a Husker on 0-of-3 shooting.
Monday's news marks the latest setback in a lifetime of adversity on and off the court for the Mesa, Ariz., native.
Allen overcame severe hardships as a child and adolescent before moving to Nebraska to attend Boys Town for his junior year of high school.
He immediately flourished in his new environment and averaged 31.6 points per game as a senior at Boys Town.
Allen eventually committed to West Virginia, where he was a regular contributor off the bench as a true freshman during the Mountaineers’ Sweet 16 run and looked on track to be a fixture in the lineup for years to come.
But Allen had a falling out with WVU head coach Bob Huggins and decided to transfer to Wichita State.
During his sit-out year with the Shockers in 2018-19, Allen was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors during an incident at a woman’s home.
Wichita State dismissed him from the program, and he ended up at WNCC for the 2019-20 season for his third school in three years.
Allen thrived at Western Nebraska, and it looked like he was on the path of a storybook redemption tale when he ended up committing to the Huskers in December of 2019.
While the production was there from Allen more often than not this season, it once again ended up being the wrong fit.
His departure puts the Huskers back at the 13-scholarship limit for the 2021-22 season, as they had been over-signed by one for the ’21 class.