Billy Preston (basketball)
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_(cropped).jpg) Preston with the Cavs in the 2018 preseason | |
| No. 24 – Tijuana Zonkeys | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| League | CIBACOPA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 26, 1997 |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| NBA draft | 2018: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018 | Igokea |
| 2018 | Canton Charge |
| 2018–2019 | Erie BayHawks |
| 2019 | Texas Legends |
| 2019 | Illawarra Hawks |
| 2020 | Metropolitanos de Mauricio Baez |
| 2021–2022 | Cape Town Tigers |
| 2024 | Cape Town Tigers |
| 2025–present | Tijuana Zonkeys |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Billy Dewon Preston Jr.[1] (born October 26, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Tijuana Zonkeys of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA). A power forward, he attended four high schools: St. John Bosco High School, Redondo Union High School, Prime Prep Academy, and Oak Hill Academy. He was ranked among the top recruits of his class, earning McDonald's All-American honors while at Oak Hill.
Following high school, Preston enrolled at the University of Kansas and had signed to play basketball for the Jayhawks. In November 2017, he was involved in an on-campus car accident that resulted in no injuries. Preston, without having played any games, was sidelined until the completion of a university investigation into the incident. After being barred for over two months, he opted to play at the professional level instead.
A Santa Ana, California native, Preston attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California and Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, followed by a stint at Prime Prep in Dallas, Texas.[2] In 2016, he transferred to Oak Hill Academy.[3] He had per-game averages of 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds as a senior at Oak Hill.[4]
In November 2016, he committed to Kansas, after he had also visited Syracuse, Indiana and the University of Southern California during the recruiting process.[5]
Preston played in the 2017 McDonald's All-American Boys Game, scoring ten points and grabbing three rebounds.[6] In the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic, he tallied seven points in 15 minutes of play.[7]
College career
Preston was held out of the Kansas Jayhawks lineup indefinitely due to a car accident on KU campus on November 8, 2017.[8] The accident, which resulted in no personal injuries, triggered an NCAA investigation into the "financial picture" of the vehicle.[9] On January 20, 2018, Preston left Kansas in the middle of the 2017–18 season due to frustration over the investigation. Although he played in Jayhawks exhibition games before the accident, he played no regular-season games for the team.[10]