In between appearances this month in the Big Strick Classic and the Under Armour Elite 24 Game, Billy Preston took an unofficial visit to Maryland.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward from Los Angeles was one of several high-profile visitors to Maryland this month, along with Josh Jackson, Taurean Thompson and Trevon Duval.
“The visit at Maryland was great, I loved it,” Preston told SNY.tv on Friday by phone from California. “The coaches showed me around the whole campus. The basketball facility was nice, the campus was nice. The educational part was nice. Everything was nice about it.
“The part that stood out to me was how they were going over the whole tradition and showing me the whole timeline, back when John Lucas and those types of players [were there], the Hall of Fame, it was nice.”
Even though several players from the Under Armour Elite 24 game visited Maryland — Under Armour’s showcase school — Preston said that wouldn’t necessarily impact where he goes to school.
“Three Under Armour players visiting an Under Armour school, that’s just like me, Tre and Josh Jackson visiting an adidas or a Nike school,” Preston said. “It wouldn’t really make a difference for me. I can’t speak for them two. They’re Under Armour kids now but you never really know where they’re going to college, to a Nike or adidas or maybe an Under Armour school. It wouldn’t really make a difference for me.”
Preston listed Maryland, Arizona and USC among the schools recruiting him hard.
“It’s been a lot of schools, too many to name,” he said. “There’s no school that really stands out right now, every school is recruiting me the same.”
Preston is ranked the No 3 power forward in the Class of 2017 by 247Sports.com, but sees himself as a combo forward who can also play the center.
“I feel like those three spots, I can really dominate in at that level,” he said.
As of now, he has no other visits planned and is focusing on his junior year at API (Advanced Prep International), formerly Prime Prep in Dallas.
“As a team, we want to make the Dick’s National championship,” he said. “We want to lose as few games as possible. Individually, I just want to dominate this whole season, help my team get far this season.”
