Kansas Basketball: Billy Preston signs with Bosnian pro team

The Kansas basketball program was dealt a big blow for the rest of their 2017-18 season as star recruit Billy Preston is headed to Bosnia to play pro basketball.

After everyone got their hopes up, Kansas basketball is now dealing with a crushing loss as star recruit Billy Preston has signed with a Bosnian pro team. This is the end of any chances that KU had at adding the impressive forward for a championship run this year. The Jayhawks will simply have to make due with the current roster.

For the past couple of weeks, it seemed like everything was heading in the right direction for Kansas. The team was winning big games, Silvio De Sousa was given clearance by the NCAA, and it was thought that Billy Preston wasn’t far behind. However, there is clearly more to the story than any of us realized.

So instead of going with Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Billy Preston will be repping whatever it is that the fans of BC Ikogea chant. This is certainly a big loss for KU’s season. However, it may all be for the best that this saga is finally put to bed. Even if it’s not with the end result that we wanted.

Make Due With What You Have

It’s not like the Kansas basketball program is in dire straits right now anyways. Even though this year’s team has shown some holes, they still lead the Big 12 conference. This is still a team that can beat just about 99% of the NCAA even on a bad night. The quest for a 14th straight conference title is very much alive.

The Jayhawks have been playing well recently, and just got their other star recruit, Silvio De Sousa, on the floor. So there is plenty of reason for optimism in Lawrence. This is still a team that figures to be in the mix come tournament time.

Billy Preston would have made things easier for KU in the postseason, don’t get me wrong. The Jayhawks will still have a harder road without him than with him. However, this is still a team that has the talent to win big this year. Bill Self will just have to buckle down and drive his guys. He’s good at that.

Related Story: Kansas Basketball: Silvio De Sousa Must Step Up Quickly

Adidas Scandal?

There is one issue here though that Kansas basketball will have to monitor. There is growing suspicion that the holdup with Billy Preston was more about a possible connection to the Adidas scandal than anything. We have seen no actual proof of any involvement from KU or Billy Preston with Adidas, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

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It seems foolish that Billy Preston’s eligibility was being held up solely by his car accident last year. That is especially true now that Preston has chosen to play in a foreign pro league. For everything to have been derailed by that accident just doesn’t make any sense. It is likely that the NCAA got wind of something else.

However, we may not ever find out anything more about that anyways. With Billy Preston turning pro, the NCAA may move past him and onto current players. Then again, they may not. You never really know with this organization. It could be that the Preston saga isn’t quite over yet. Hopefully it is though. It’s time to put this thing to bed.

This was not the resolution that Kansas basketball was expecting with Billy Preston. Things had appeared to be looking good for the Jayhawks and their star prospect, but now that is all out the window. It’s tough losing a top prospect like this, especially without any clarity. Bill Self will have to just move forward.