LINCOLN — Amir Harris and Karrington Davis are both in the transfer portal, a source told The World-Herald on Wednesday, after spending one season each at Nebraska.
Harris — who told The World-Herald last week he planned on returning next season — was called by coaches over the weekend and informed he no longer had a spot on the team, sources told The World-Herald. Davis was told the same information late last week.
Both join another freshman, Brady Heiman, as scholarship players told in the last week they aren’t in the future plans for new coach Fred Hoiberg. The attrition leaves Nebraska with four open scholarships.
Harris appeared in 23 games as a freshman, averaging 2.2 points per game with 2.5 rebounds. He missed more than a month from December to January with mononucleosis. When he returned, he provided Nebraska with production off the bench while the NU roster suffered more injuries. Harris scored the winning layup against Iowa in the home finale in a 93-91 win in overtime but missed the rest of the season with a meniscus injury.
Davis, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard, suffered an Achilles injury in October and missed the 2018-19 season. Davis was a three-star guard out of St. Louis and held offers from Nebraska, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee State and Saint Louis. Davis has spent the last seven months rehabbing to ready for next season. He was off crutches in March.
Under NCAA rules, Hoiberg and his coaching staff are allowed to move scholarship players off the team despite the student-athletes signing four-year scholarships with the school. Though the NCAA protects student-athlete scholarships in nearly every case, during a coaching change the NCAA allows the new coach to deny the renewal of the scholarship for the next season. Should the players choose, they would be allowed to stay at Nebraska on scholarship, but they would not count toward the 13 scholarships allotted to men’s basketball.
Just three players recruited by Tim Miles remain from Nebraska’s roster from last season: Dachon Burke, Isaiah Roby and Thorir Thorbjarnarson. Thomas Allen and Nana Akenten left the program in April.
Thorbjarnarson will return next season after meeting with Hoiberg last week. Roby has until May 29 to decide if he’ll return or stay in the NBA draft. Burke has two seasons of eligibility left after sitting out last season following his transfer from Robert Morris.
Since being hired, Hoiberg has added four scholarship players: junior college guard Cam Mack, graduate transfers Haanif Cheatham and Matej Kavas, and Western Kentucky transfer Dalano Banton. All but Banton will be eligible to play next season.