Preston loves playing at Kentucky

By: LARRY VAUGHT



BENTON —No one enjoyed being at the Marshall County Hoop Fest more than 6-10 power forward Billy Preston of Advance Prep International of Dallas.

“I love playing at Kentucky. We came last year came to play at McCracken County. I loved both experiences. I love how the fans and whole city comes out,” said Preston. “Playing on ESPN is special and a blessing for a high school kid to be on national TV. It is exciting and I love exciting games, so it is all good for me.”

Preston helped his team beat Sunrise Christian in Thursday’s opening game of the Hoop Fest and will play again Saturday night against Prolific Prep of California and highly-ranked Josh Jackson.

Preston, a junior, has a bevvy of scholarship offers from schools such as Arizona State, Baylor, Connecticut, Fresno State, Kansas,  New Mexico State, Oregon, UCLA, Southern Cal and Utah. Most recruiting analysts think Preston, a California native, will stay in the west to play college basketball.

However, he said after Thursday’s game that Kentucky is still on his radar.

“Me personally, I have not heard anything (from Kentucky) but my parents have talked to the coaching staff there. What I have been told, but I am not sure, is that Kentucky doesn’t recruit players until end of their junior year. I am not saying that is what it is. I am just not sure,” the athletic Preston said. “I just keep working on my game. It would be a blessing to be recruited by Kentucky. What player wouldn’t want to be recruited by them? I just keep working and hope they start recruiting me hard.”

Preston considers UK one of the top schools in the country and says any player would have interest in coach John Calipari’s team.

“It is Kentucky. When you think of college basketball, Kentucky is definitely one of the teams you immediately think about. Last year they went 38-0 and the amount of professional basketball players they produce each year, you have to know about Kentucky,” Preston said. “You can’t not know about Kentucky. It would be a blessing to be recruited by that school.”

API coach Ray Forsett calls Preston a “big-time talented kid” and says there is little he cannot do on the court.

“He can handle, shoot, pass, rebound, do it all. That helps us win,” Forsett said. “When he is locked in, we are locked in and it makes us a better team. Just like every kid, he has to work on playing hard every play. Everybody can always work on shooting the ball better. For the most part, he is a great talent but still a work in progress. If he would play hard every play, I don’t think anybody in the country could stop him.”

ESPN national recruiting director Paul Biancardi, who worked two games shown on ESPN here Thursday, says there is no junior in the country more talented than Preston.

“He is so gifted. He can pass, handle, shoot, push the ball, rebound, block shots, anything. But he doesn’t always play with a high motor, doesn’t always practice well. That’s why he has ups and downs,” Biancardi said. “But he can flat-out dominate games when he plays.”