Billy Preston, Redondo’s newly arrived 6-foot-9 sophomore sensation, has been generating a lot of talk among Beach Cities hoops fans, players and coaches. Some of it is fact and some of it is just jealous people talking smack.
Fact: Preston is one of the top Division 1 prospects in the Southland, as he proved Friday while scoring 25 points, grabbing 15 boards and leading the Sea Hawks to a too-close-for-comfort 58-56 victory over his former team, St. John Bosco, in the semifinals of the Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament.
Myth: Redondo is his fourth or even fifth high school, just another stop on the hoops circuit for a classic basketball mercenary. In an exclusive interview with Easy Reader after the game, Preston’s mother Nicole Player said St. John Bosco was his only other high school, although it is true that he practiced with the Mater Dei team for a few weeks in the summer of 2013 before enrolling at SJB.
“He was never enrolled at Mater Dei,” Player said. “This is only his second high school and it’s going to be his last.”
Myth: He is 18 or even 19 years old. “He just turned 17,” Player said.
Myth: He doesn’t even live in the Redondo school district. “We live just around the corner from the high school,” Player said.
While Player was clearing up the off-the-court myths and lies, Preston was busy demonstrating why he has already received scholarship offers from USC, UCLA, Arizona, UNLV and the University of Connecticut. Long, lanky and an explosive leaper, his strengths and weaknesses were demonstrated in one fast-and-furious sequence in the fourth quarter when he air-balled a 3-point shot but recovered quickly to race down the court and block what looked to be a sure lay-up by SJB’s Rodney Henderson at the other end of the court.
While athletes with his size and agility are hard to come by, it was also clear Preston needs to hit the weight room and work on his outside shot if he wants to be a college star and, ultimately, an NBA player. He did almost all his damage from 10 feet and in Friday night, but he was outmuscled several times and had the ball ripped out of his hands a few times.
It was a back and forth game that saw Redondo jump out to a 12-8 lead, only to have SJB rip off an 11-0 run to grab a 19-12 lead behind 6-foot-8 senior Vance Jackson, another Division 1 prospect who displayed the perimeter skills Preston currently lacks by hitting three 3-pointers.
But Redondo came back to tie it at 19-19 at the end of the first quarter with 5-foot-2 Elijah Nesbit providing backcourt stability and suffocating defense on SJB’s ball handlers. A Preston dunk gave Redondo a 34-32 lead at the half.
SJB started the fourth quarter leading by 4 points at 47-43, so in the end it was Redondo’s superior depth that won this game by simply wearing down the Braves with waves of fresh athletes willing to press full court and fast break at every opportunity.
Preston, the game-high scorer, was backed up by Nesbit as well as smooth 6-foot-4 forward Cameron Williams, who had 12 points, and 6-foot-2 guard Leland Green, who had 8 points, six assists and one hellacious block that brought the crowd to its feet late in the fourth quarter.
Redondo will face off with Long Beach Poly for the 63rd annual Pac Shores championship Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on its home court.
