After a series of transfers, the Nebraska basketball program finally got some good news on Friday as 4-star Brewster Academy guard Thomas Allen announced his commitment to Nebraska.
https://twitter.com/TGABFY/status/855459605383700481
Allen, who originally committed to North Carolina State but decommitted after Mark Gottfried was fired, chose the Huskers over the likes of Kansas, Xavier, Ole Miss, Ohio State and a slew of others. Creighton looked to get involved late in the process as well.
Allen is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound combo-guard from Raleigh, North Carolina who ran with Garner Road on the AAU circuit and transferred to basketball powerhouse Brewster Academy in New Hampshire for his senior season.
Allen is a huge get for Nebraska not only in terms of talent, but in terms of fit as well. He is first and foremost a tremendous 3-point shooter who should provide some immediate floor-spacing as a freshman. He’s also a good-enough ball-handler to get to the rim and has solid court vision. Size, shooting and ball-handling were the team’s biggest needs and Allen checks off two of those boxes. He could form a dynamic backcourt with Glynn Watson Jr. as well as run the ball when Watson needs a break.
Allen joins 3-star wing Nana Akenten from Bolingbrook, Illinois in Nebraska’s 2017 class, and Akenten looks to be excited about his new classmate based on his Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/nbasfuture/status/855465657860837376
https://twitter.com/nbasfuture/status/855466379411152896
Allen and Akenten are both tremendous shooters, and transfers James Palmer Jr. (Miami) and Isaac Copeland (Georgetown) will both be eligible this season as well and both will provide added floor spacing next season.
Allen, Copeland and Anton Gill are all from Raleigh and all played AAU basketball for Garner Road.
The Huskers are not done yet, however. They still have three scholarships open and need some depth in the frontcourt.
Winthrop grad transfer Duby Okeke is in Lincoln for a visit this weekend. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound center averaged 41. points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 94 games for Winthrop.
Updated Nebrasketball scholarship depth chart:
PG) Glynn Watson Jr.
SG) James Palmer Jr., Evan Taylor, Anton Gill, Thomas Allen
SF) Isaiah Roby, Jack McVeigh, Nana Akenten
PF) Isaac Copeland
C) Jordy Tshimanga
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
