Thomas Allen, the No. 149-ranked player in the 2017 class, according to Rivals.com, revealed on Twitter on Monday night that he had received a scholarship offer from Kansas.
Allen, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard who spent the past season playing at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire — former home of current KU guard Devonte’ Graham and former KU players Naadir Tharpe and Thomas Robinson — and, initially had committed to North Carolina State.
But when the Wolfpack fired coach Mark Gottfried, that opened the door for Allen to look around and he recently was granted a release from NC State.
The 3-star prospect who helped Brewster to a 33-0 season and national prep school championship, scored 19 points in the championship game that delivered Brewster its third national title in the past four seasons.
His lone season at the prep school proved memorable in other ways, as well, with Allen netting a school record 50 points in a single game in January. He went 18 of 23 from the floor in that game, with 11 of the makes coming from 3-point range.
According to Eric Bossi, of Rivals.com, Allen’s strong season and sudden availability has received plenty of attention throughout college basketball.
“More of a scorer and perhaps a natural two guard, Allen can really shoot from deep and has heard from Kansas, Auburn, Michigan, Tennessee, Providence, Butler, Nebraska and many others,” Bossi wrote this week.
What exactly KU’s immediate needs are in the 2017 recruiting class remain in flux. With Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk likely at least consider leaving early, KU remains in search of a point guard for next season and beyond.
If Graham returns for his senior season, the need is not as great. But KU would love nothing more than for Graham to return and to pair him with 5-star point guard Trevon Duval, the No. 3 player in the 2017 class who remains undecided and is zeroing in on his decision.
Duval is considering KU along with finalists Arizona, Baylor, Duke and Seton Hall.
If the Jayhawks miss out on Duval, there are still a few other point guard options out there, and even though Allen is not a true point guard, adding him to the class would certainly add depth in the backcourt in the form of a player who might stick around for a few years.
One of the available point guards is Allen’s Brewster teammate, Makai Ashton-Langford, the No. 38 player in the Class of 2017 who recently was released from his letter of intent with UConn, but his Rivals.com bio does not list Kansas as an option.
Others who have had ties to Kansas include 4-star prospect, Tremont Waters, who is ranked No. 36 in the class and has asked for a release from Georgetown, with whom he signed in November, and 4-star prospect, Mark Smith, an up-and-comer ranked No. 78 from Edwardsville, Illinois.
Duval remains the top choice for Kansas, and the rest of his finalists, but if the electric McDonald’s All-American elects to sign elsewhere, the pool of options after him is not as shallow as it once seemed to be.
The next signing period is slated to begin April 12 (next Wednesday) and will run through May 17.
