Kansas Basketball: Five-star combo forward Billy Preston commits to Jayhawks

Kansas basketball added a talented five-star forward in their class of 2017 on Friday.

Oak Hill Academy forward Billy Preston has answered the call, as he chose the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday. The 6’10” forward from California chose the Jayhawks over schools such as Syracuse and Indiana. Preston is ranked 20th in ESPN’s top 100.

It’s one major decision that’s really no surprise to most recruiting experts across the nation. According to 247sports.com, most of the top recruiting experts predicted that Preston would commit to Lawrence.

Bill Self is getting one of the most versatile forwards in the nation in Preston. He is athletic, can move like a guard and can play inside and outside.

Preston played on the Houston Hoops AAU team during a portion of the Nike EYBL season. He averaged 14 points per game, however, that season was cut short when he injured his finger during the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.

This is Kansas’ second top 100 recruit in 2017. The other prospect is Marcus Garrett, a four star point guard out of Skyline, TX.

Kansas is far from done when it comes to recruiting though, as they are in the running for tons of uncommitted five star players such as Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox, Trevon Duval and many more.

With Preston’s commitment, it will be interesting to see how this affects other prospects that are considering the Jayhawks going forward. It’s also worth noting that Preston could help recruit other five-star products to play with him in Lawrence next fall.

Ultimately, Kansas is one of the top programs in the nation because of their ability to reel in elite talent. While the Jayhawks are searching for their 13th straight Big 12 title this season, the addition of Preston puts them in a good position moving forward into 2017-18.