Thomas Allen could be the first Nebraska basketball player to depart the program in the wake of the Tim Miles firing. Reports surfaced on Thursday that the guard has officially placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. This is, of course, the first step in heading off to another basketball program. This kind of thing usually happens when you are talking about firing a coach, but it still shows just how fast Bill Moos needs to move when it comes to finding a replacement. If the Cornhuskers want to make sure they are keeping their roster intact as much as possible, they are going to need to get a coach that talks the Thomas Allens of the Husker world in Lincoln.

Thomas Allen dipping his toe in transfer waters

The news that Allen had put his name in the transfer portal is a bit of good news/bad news. The bad news, of course, is that he's looking around. The good news is that Robin Washut of HuskerOnline has claimed he's been told the guard is going to show patience. Allen has apparently told people he wants to see who the new head coach is before he makes a final decision.

The issue is that there are clearly some names that might make Allen decide he would be a better fit elsewhere. That could mean that we're going to see more players decide the same thing. All eyes are likely going to be on players like Dachon Burke, who has been very vocal in his support of Tim Miles.

He was often tweeting a couple of times a week talking about how the Nebraska basketball team needed to keep their head coach.

Isaiah Roby is also going to be someone people will need to pay attention to. There was talk the forward was going to try and join the NBA after last season. He might decide that he wants to do that for real this time around, rather than start all over with a new head coach.

If Fred Hoiberg, who has been rumored to be getting the job even before there was an opening does step in, it seems like both players might stay, but it's impossible to know for sure.

Nebraska has been through this before

Dealing with the potential of transfers is something Bill Moos and his athletic department have dealt with before Thomas Allen and it wasn't that long ago.

When Mike Riley was fired, both Stanley Morgan and JD Spielman thought about leaving Lincoln. Had the wide receivers both left, it would have absolutely crippled a team that struggled to a 4-8 season even with those players on the squad.

In the end, the hiring of Scott Frost was enough to convince both to stick around and JD Spielman is going to be a big player in the rebuild in 2019. Thomas Allen, who missed the end of this season could be a go-to player in the 2019-20 season. Nebraska basketball needs him to stick around.
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