Kansas basketball: Billy Preston gone but not forgotten

Kansas basketball fans received some unfortunate news on Billy Preston. He is never going to play another college basketball game in Allen Fieldhouse.

The Billy Preston show for Kansas basketball is over. As a matter of fact, the show is over before it ever started. He is heading to play professional basketball a long way from his sunny, Southern California hometown. This young man is going to of all places Bosnia to begin his pro basketball career.

The Preston career for Kansas basketball had a couple of highlights fans will remember. He did score 12 points in15 minutes on 4-5 shooting in the Showdown for Relief victory over Missouri. Jayhawk fans will always thank him for that.  He looked good in that Sprint Center fundraiser despite foul trouble. After that showing, fans couldn’t wait to see him when the regular season started.

In addition to the win over the Tigers, Preston did see action and made some nice moves in both exhibition wins. On the Kansas basketball trip to Italy, Preston started two games and played in 3 while fighting some health issues. His average of 7.3 points and 4 rebounds were just fine for a summer trip overseas.

I know Kansas basketball fans, Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, Preston’s Jayhawk teammates and many others are disappointed. I don’t know what happened to end our dream to see him play for the Jayhawks. I’m not sure Jayhawk fans want or need to know. On the other hand, maybe we need to hear the truth that kept him from ever playing a regular season game in Allen Fieldhouse.

Will we ever learn what happened?

The facts behind this strange story don’t really matter now. The entire situation is disappointing. I didn’t think much about it when coach Self held him out of the season opener. That was reportedly for skipping a class and missing curfew. I never, ever imagined Self would not play him against Kentucky.

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That mid-November win over the ‘Cats in the Champions Classic seems like a long time to Kansas basketball fans. I can’t imagine how Preston has suffered mentally as this played out. He practiced daily, sat on the bench and acted like a good teammate. All the while, fans hoped for the best while not knowing when it would all end. It is over now. We wish him the best as he works to make an NBA roster.