“Billy didn’t make the decision. I did,” says sophomore phenom’s mother.
Billy Preston, the 6-foot-9 sophomore sensation who shocked Redondo Union basketball fans when he abruptly left the school last week, is already playing for Prime Prep Academy Charter School in Dallas, Texas.
His mother, Nicole Player, confirmed to the Easy Reader Monday night that Preston appeared in a game for Prime Prep last weekend.
Preston’s stunning, mid-season departure came two days after the Sea Hawks suffered a dispiriting blowout loss to their long-time rival Bishop Montgomery in the Jordan Take Flight Challenge that dropped Redondo’s record to 11-4. Preston finished that game with 19 points and 7 boards, but he had three shots blocked in the first quarter and was not a factor as Redondo trailed by double digits from the middle of the first quarter on.
But Player insisted the discouraging loss had nothing to do with her decision to take her son out of Redondo.
And she said any Sea Hawk fans who are upset about losing the team’s best player and California’s second ranked player in the class of 2017 should blame her and not Preston.
“Billy didn’t make the decision. I did,” she said. “I make all the decisions. He is still a minor.”
She said she has already been vilified online and around Redondo.
“I’m public enemy number one here, and that’s fine with me,” she said. “I have a thick skin, and I will always do what’s best for my son. He is my only child.”
Preston’s biological father has been out of the family picture for a long time, and Preston always credits Player’s partner, Tamicha Kirby, a former WNBA player, with teaching him the fundamentals of basketball when he was transitioning from skate-boarding to hoops just a few years ago.
Speculation over the reason for Preston’s departure has sparked a number of theories among Beach Cities fans, players and coaches. Player adamantly shot down two of them but was ambivalent about a third.
First, she said, it had nothing to do with Billy being taunted for having two lesbians as parents or, by extension, by kids speculating that he might be gay after being raised by two women.
“Billy has a girlfriend at North Torrance High School that he hated to leave behind,” she said. “He has always loved the ladies. And he has never been taunted or bullied by any kids at the school. Remember, he’s 6-9 and 220 pounds. No one is going to taunt him. If that ever happened, I would have been in school the next morning making sure it was stopped immediately.”
Second, she denied that her son had been recruited by Prime Prep or any other school to leave Redondo and join their team. She specifically denied a story going around that Preston had been approached by a representative of Prime Prep shortly after the Bishop Montgomery loss.
“That never happened,” she said. “He was neither taunted out of the school nor recruited away from the school. Billy got along great with everyone at the school and was happy with the team and the school. It was my decision and mine alone.”
The third theory making the rounds was that Preston was unable to keep his grades up and was about to lose his academic eligibility to play sports. Player would not confirm or deny that theory but admitted she made the decision for off-court reasons.
“It had nothing to do with basketball. The truth is Redondo fit him well athletically but did not fit him well academically,” Player said. “It just wasn’t right. It just wasn’t going to work. He was not going to flourish there.”
She said that on the Monday after the Bishop Montgomery game she spoke to Coach Reggie Morris, went to the school, spoke to Preston’s guidance counselor, said it wasn’t working, and pulled him from the school.
Within a couple of days he was on his way to Texas and Prime Prep.
“I wanted to put him in the best possible situation to succeed, both athletically and academically,” she said. “I have to do what’s best for my child and that’s exactly what I did. I want him to be able to flourish on and off the court.”
Player did express one regret.
“I know it has an impact on Redondo, and I’m sorry for that,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we’re happy and we’re fine. We’re moving on.”
Preston will undoubtedly be welcomed with open arms in Texas. During the Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High in San Diego last month, Redondo easily defeated Prime Prep on its way to the tournament final. The MVP of that game: Billy Preston, whose highlight steal and emphatic dunk can be found on Youtube.
Contact the writer: paulteetor@verizon.net
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