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For Teddy Allen, Return to Division I is More Than Basketball

By Stephen Hintz

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Teddy Allen #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers reacts during the second half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Teddy Allen #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers reacts during the second half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Huskers commit Teddy Allen will return to Division I basketball looking for redemption in what could be his last chance.

It was just three years ago that Boys Town standout Teddy Allen was stuffing the stat sheets and securing the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year Award. From his senior year, one might have thought Allen was on top of the world, being the best player in Nebraska and getting ready to play for West Virginia for his freshman season of college ball. But since his senior year, it has been a roller coaster of change and instability for Allen, and certainly a path that no one could have expected.

In a year of contributing a lot for the Mountaineers, Teddy Allen put up 7 points per game in about 12 minutes per game for a sweet sixteen West Virginia team. On the stat sheet, the future for the then freshman Allen seemed very promising as he was already contributing as a freshman and his role would only grow as he aged through the program.

However, that was not the case. It seemed as if Allen and head coach Bob Huggins did not get along well as towards the end of the season, Allen was benched for a couple of games and Huggins once mentioned:

"“Teddy needs to be quiet and listen.”"

The relationship between Allen and the coaching staff was flawed and shortly after the season, Allen was looking for a new home as he deemed West Virginia was not the right fit.

In his second recruitment, Teddy was brought in by Gregg Marshall and was looking to make Wichita State his new home. The NCAA did not grant Allen a waiver waiver and he found himself sitting out the 2018-19 season for the Shockers. Before playing a single game in a Wichita State uniform, Teddy Allen was dismissed from the program after he was arrested on the morning of June 13 and charged with domestic violence, property crime, and petty theft. Once again, Allen found himself looking for a new school to call home.

This third recruiting cycle was different than the previous two, as Allen elected not to try his hand at Division I again, and instead chose Western Nebraska Community College. This move would allow Teddy to be relieved of all the pressures that come with playing at a large, prominent school, and just focusing on redemption.

At WNCC, Teddy has been putting up outrageous numbers as he leads JUCO in points per game (32) and he is shooting a 50-40-90 clip. Huskers’ head coach Fred Hoiberg took notice of this and decided to reach out to Allen, inviting him to visit for  the game against Purdue in mid-December. Immediately after the game, Teddy announced his commitment to NU saying this:

Teddy and the Nebraska staff both hope that this is his last stop of his college career and Allen hopes to find stability in Lincoln. It has been a long road coming for the 22-year-old originally from Mesa, but it seems like a perfect full-circle story as Allen makes his final destination in the metro Nebraska area. For Allen, this is an opportunity for renewal more than anything.

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