Preston is gone

Geez! Beyond annoying!

www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12...rticle195738719.html

Sad! Sad! Sad! But, glad for some sort of resolution for Billy and for the team. Will the truth of this ever be revealed? I guess time will tell.

Getting DeSousa is looking HUGE now. SD does not possess the talent of a BP, but he will steal some minutes and it sounds like he will provide some 2-bigs playing time in the future.

Thanks,

RC

The news flashed up on my CBS Sports App alert today but it disappeared so quickly I only caught it was Billy Preston news. My excited expectation was that he had been cleared by the NCAA and he would see some PT today. So I was extremely disappointed when I saw that he was leaving the team for Europe.

I for one am very disappointed we didn't get to see Billy in Crimson and Blue. Without having seen him in a game, it's hard to tell, but based on his resume, he almost seems like the missing ingredient that would have made a good team, great. We'll never know.

At this point, I don't blame him for leaving. I think Self and Company are better off knowing Billy's fate, rather than continuing in limbo. Hopefully, DeSousa will get into the flow of the college game quickly enough to thicken our thin frontcourt.

Let's all wish Billy nothing but the best!

Totally agree. I went back and looked at his exhibition stats. He was going to be a huge help for us. Nothing at all against Lightfoot but Preston was night and day better. I really am disappointed in this. Doesn't seem right at all. I don't understand why we don't see this happening at other schools such as Duke, UNC, Kentucky. Maybe it does and I'm just not paying attention as much but I sure don't seem to recall one of these schools losing a key player because of some issue like this...really can't believe this.

I am glad that we had not played him while there was this uncertainty about whether he or his family had accepted money or signed with an agent. May be the car wreck was a positive or we may not have known and only later would the sh.t hit the fan. I would not want KU to have to give up games and the chance for #14 or appearing in the Big Dance. I am of the opinion that there something that was far from right. The the kids credit, he stayed positive, appeared engaged while on the bench and probably helped in Doke's and SDS development in practices.

I'm having a hard time with this current situation, and finding myself saying "good riddance" rather than "good luck".

I'm definitely not feeling like Preston is part of the Jayhawk family, or at least my Jayhawk family, and I really want our bar to be higher than just having chosen to attend KU. If you can't even get to one game (Preston) or the end of the season (Alexander) or more than one full season (Bragg) without causing major legal or eligibility problems, then I'm not sure you've earned your way into the KU family. Men like Mason, Perry, Chalmers, Manning, Piper, Turgeon, Haas, Lucas, Robinson, etc. earned family status. We should have higher expectations of excellence and commitment than just donning a KU hat at your high school selection show.

What limited facts we know is that a seemingly small incident was quickly picked up by KU as needing a two month investigation, and when given to the NCAA was not a clear cut case of "no problem". I then read texts from momma chewing people out for not supporting her son and her. I also read many comments about how the kid was getting screwed by the NCAA, and momma should sue the NCAA. Horse hockey! He and/or she did the loaner car thing, not anyone else, and certainly not the NCAA. Put blame where blame is due.

Then we read today that the family attorney (i.e. "agent") has arranged for him to play professionally. That didn't just happen over the past couple days, and I'm assuming it wasn't done just because the decision had drug on. I assume (no facts) that the indication was that a decision would not be good for him.

Good kid, likely, but he and/or momma did something that put KU's eligibility and reputation at huge risk - before he even made it to the first game!!! That's unacceptable to me, and I have no tolerance for it anymore. In my book, you must select KU, show up and work hard, and respect our school enough to put personal gain aside and just simply OBEY THE RULES. That's not too much to ask.

Good luck in your career, but from this 35 year true Crimson and Blue Jayhawk, adios.

Thanks, AZhawk87 for your candor. I was, and still am interested to see the responses of the Jayhawk faithful regarding these turn of events. I will admit that I tend to see the best in people, as long as there is a perceived effort to do what is right. In many ways, Billy has passed the "eye test" in that regard. It would be easy to feel sorry for him and his family and sugar coat the whole matter, which is what I was originally thinking.

However, the truth remains that the longevity of this matter seems to cast a huge shadow over the events and choices made by Billy and his family. In my opinion, the mere fact that the KU Athletics Compliance Department took so long to compile information is an indicator of questionable activity from their perspective, and that they had maybe hoped to have found a loophole that would have cleared Billy to play. Otherwise, it should not have taken that long to gather information for submission, as many have already commented previously. The length of time it has taken the NCAA to make a ruling MAY be a result of the compelling arguments the Compliance Department have presented. There's that tendency to give the benefit of the doubt.

If he is guilty of wrongdoing, he needs to understand the consequences, not only upon himself, but on the University of Kansas. If he would have been cleared, it is still important for him to understand the importance of making wise choices. I believe it will be important, not so much for us as fans, but for Billy, and for the reputation of KU, to know more of the circumstances, and what decision would have been rendered by the NCAA. The fact that the Athletic department held him out speaks well for their reputation, even though they made the effort to plead his case. That was a demonstration of loyalty and compassion.

Whether we will hear more regarding the case, I will reference a comment from Matt Tait in the comment section of the LJW article in response to another comment.

Commenter: There are good enough reporters covering KU, many on this site, that surely someday we will get the entire story. It's pretty crazy that we haven't so far. It's even funny that it is still reported that he missed that first game for "violation of team rules" separate from bigger investigation.

Matt Tait: We'll certainly try but I'm not holding my breath. The need for anyone to disclose the full details now has gone way down given the fact that revealing them will not help anyone or anything.
I realize it would give the fan base some closure, but I'm not sure that's a huge priority for anyone.
Beyond that, if you knew Billy, you wouldn't have that hard of a time believing the Game 1 suspension was for something unrelated.

I'm not sure how to interpret that last remark from Matt. If you have a take, I would be interested to hear it.

My take on Matt’s comment is that Billy was trouble. Recall that Self consistently called Preston out for lack of effort and doing the job Self expected of him, from the first day. I think KU kept most facts away from the media, and the media has been chastised for not digging deeper into the facts. I suppose Matt is trying to tell us what he can about Preston, which overall doesn’t sound like a kid I would like very much. I’m all in to support the team we have, and don’t care at all what happens to Preston in the future.

Let's not pretend that Billy or his mother, or his mother's partner, were innocents in this entire episode. Either Billy is incredibly stupid or he's a liar. Or both. And I strongly suspect that his mother and her partner were the main players in this sad story. If it had been just the car, it would have ended differently. The car is/was the tip of the iceberg, and the iceberg was/is an agent. I have several theories about what happened, but in the end all that matters is that Billy Preston either was bought and paid for by KU, which is ludicrous, or he was bought and paid for by an agent. Guess which one will turn out to be the 'truth' in this sordid story. I guess I'm just astonished how stupid and short sighted parents of these kids are, and how naive the kids must be to go along with this kind of scam. And the history of players and families just like this one are so easy to find, even at KU. Self must have astonishing self control and discipline to have played this out to the end without giving it away. I never saw or heard a 'tell.' I guess that's one of the reasons he's so good at his job.

Based on HE's scholarship question, what does the board think the chances are that Dok will be back? I've not seen Azukuike on any of the NBA draft boards but the kid keeps getting better. I know his game is still lacking in a number of ways, and coming back would do him good but his potential is the stuff NBA folks get excited about. Another year at KU and he will be a force underneath. What do you think the chances are Dok will be back?

Senex. You beat me to the punch. The car was a red hering. Mama said they considered the pro option before choosing KU. Now there is an attorney - not an “agent” per Prestons’ statement - who “arranged” his contract in Europe. No way a car issue can consume almost four months. I believe The car was the smoke screen for everything else that was going on with the “lawyer” that took so long to review. Too bad for KU, but I’m glad this is over and he’s gone.

Most agents are attorneys. Semantics.

I admit to vacillating on the Preston issue, but I have wondered since he missed curfew and class why he would ever jeopardize his scholarship that way. Now I'm thinking his dream of going to KU wasn't as strong as he and his mom suggested, and I look at him as not only a disappointment for the team's future but also as a spoiled brat who probably has received anything he desired. I don't wish him ill will, I just won't consider watching any NBA he may be one to be a priority.

As usual once the mind trust of this board starts to comment, a clearer picture emerges. So thanks to all who have contributed to this thread as it has focused on the real issues of this saga. I too believed that this was way more than a one car accident deal. I also believed that while he may have been complicit, Billy was not the main culprit in the affair. As one of my favorite coaches of all time stated, it comes down to “dollar signs”. Too many of those were spent on this for anyone to believe this was over an on campus fender bender.

The bigger question for me is how does this keep happening? I realize its all about the talent. Its all about filling the roster with McDonalds All Americans. It just seems that some of the baggage might not be worth the trouble. Maybe I’m just being short sided in thinking it is only happening here, but wouldn’t it be nice to have one season wihtout waiting on the NCAA for a decision on a player?

Regardless, this chapter is closed for good. Good luck to the young man. Hopefully he and his mother get all they want from this life.

It happens because some people are convinced that the can 'beat the system.' Generally they can't. And people who are not 'connected' in some way to real power and money definitely can't. Don't discount his godmother's influence over this situation. She played Division 1 basketball, and I'm sure had or has the perception that corruption is the standard and it's the honest kids and their families that are the dumb ones. And in many respects, she may be right. It appears that the family made a wager, and although Billy is suffering (and I'm sure he is), the adults are going to make out fine. His humiliation and the months he's going to spend in the 2nd and 3rd tier cities of Central and Eastern Europe will be personal payment of a serious kind for the young man, who is totally unprepared for what life on the margins of professional sports is really like. But the ladies will make out fine, and assuming he doesn't totally disintegrate as a player, he'll find a way to make a lot of money over the next decade or so. To them, he's the horse and they are the jockeys. That concept makes me sick, but it seems to me to make the most sense.