Billy Preston's career at Kansas is over.
The freshman forward signed a contract with BC Igokea of Bosnia on Saturday, ending a long process of him waiting for his amateur status to be cleared by the NCAA.
"I can confirm that Billy Preston is foregoing his eligibility to play at Kansas and has signed with a professional team in Bosnia," KU coach Bill Self said in a release. "Billy's family has been very upfront telling us that his first choice was to stay at Kansas, but with the uncertainty of the situation they needed to look at other potential options. This opportunity in Bosnia came with a deadline for a decision, and the family reached that decision Friday afternoon.
"We are all disappointed that Billy never had the opportunity to experience college basketball competition but we certainly support him and wish him the best. Although he has been frustrated with the situation, Billy's attitude has been tremendous and he has developed as a person and as a player. I'm sure that will continue as he prepares for his professional career."
BC Igokea announced the signing Saturday.
"We are honored to have such a tremendous talent in our organization," the team said in a release. "We were watching his situation closely and reached out to his family to show interest and ultimately reached an agreement with the family attorney in California on a contract for the rest of the season. We know Billy is an NBA prospect so we will do our best to continue his development to help him excel for our club and fulfill his goal, which is to be an NBA star in the near future."
Preston, who sat out KU's first game for missing curfew and class according to coach Bill Self, was not allowed to play KU's next game against Kentucky on Nov. 15 while the school looked into the "financial picture" regarding his vehicle after a one-car accident on campus. He sat out the next 16 games after that while the situation was being investigated.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Saturday, Preston said he and his family "have fully cooperated with the NCAA and were prepared to continue but it has been 67 days since this process began, and still no end in sight."
KU sent findings on Preston's situation from its compliance department to the NCAA just before Christmas, and Self said repeatedly since then that he believed a resolution coming soon.
That never came, as Preston did not play in any of KU's 18 regular-season games during his only season.
"It's been too long," Nicole Player, Preston's mother, told ESPN. "They didn't have an answer and weren't prepared to give us answers. He just wants to play."
