Billy Preston, 5-star Kansas recruit, signs with Bosnian team and won't play in college

NCAA issues led to the McDonald's All-American never actually playing for KU

By Gary Parrish

Jan 20, 2018 at 9:26 am ET • 1 min read

A professional team in Bosnia announced Saturday that it has reached an agreement with five-star prospect Billy Preston, meaning the Kansas freshman's college career is now officially over.

"We are honored to have such a tremendous talent in our organization," BC Ikogea said in a news release. "We were watching his situation closely and reached out to his family to show interest and ultimately reached an Agreement with the family Attorney in California on a contract for the rest of the season. We know Billy is an NBA prospect so we will do our best to continue his development to help him excel for our club and fulfill his goal which is to be an NBA star in the near future."

Preston's "situation" was one that had prevented him from playing at all this season. The 6-foot-10 forward sat out KU's opener for what Hall of Fame coach Bill Self described as punishment for missing class and curfew. The school subsequently announced Preston was being held out of future games while it looked into the "financial picture" of a vehicle he was driving during an accident on campus. He was never cleared to play.

"I can confirm that Billy Preston is foregoing his eligibility to play at Kansas and has signed with a professional team in Bosnia," Self said Saturday morning. "Billy's family has been very upfront telling us that his first choice was to stay at Kansas. But with the uncertainty of the situation they needed to look at other potential options. This opportunity in Bosnia came with a deadline for a decision, and the family reached that decision Friday afternoon. We are all disappointed that Billy never had the opportunity to experience college basketball competition but we certainly support him and wish him the best. Although he has been frustrated with the situation, Billy's attitude has been tremendous and he has developed as a person and as a player. I'm sure that will continue as he prepares for his professional career."

Preston was ranked 20th in the Class of 2017.

He's expected to declare for, and remain in, the 2018 NBA Draft.