Nebraska junior guard Teddy Allen announced via a release on Monday morning that he has left the Nebraska basketball program effective immediately.
“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 the 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.”
Allen scored 41 points less than a week ago against Penn State, falling one point short of setting the program record for scoring in a single game. Allen appeared in 22 games for Nebraska this season, totaling eight, 20-point games and averaging 16.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Allen aggravated a wrist injury in the game against Penn State, and followed up the game against the Nittany Lions with a quiet five-point effort in a loss to Illinois. Allen played just 10 minutes and went scoreless in Nebraska's win over Minnesota on Saturday in Lincoln. After that game, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said he liked the group he had on the floor, which didn't include Allen.
“That other group that was out there was giving us great minutes and playing with a great rhythm,” Hoiberg said of Allen’s decreased minutes. “It wasn’t anything more than that.”
The departure is the latest move for Allen, who starred for Boys Town in Omaha and signed with West Virginia out of high school. Allen left West Virginia and transferred to Wichita State, but he never appeared in a game for the Shockers, as he was dismissed from the team and ended up at Western Nebraska CC last season, where he averaged more than 31 points per game to lead the nation.