Billy Preston

Practice highlights of elite 2017 high school prospect Billy Preston from the 2017 McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago, Illinois.Interview


Video filming and production courtesy of Tad Hathaway of 312 Media.

Jonathan Givony

Strengths:
-Good physical profile for a power forward. 6-9 without shoes. 7-1 wingspan. Strong 233 pound frame. Smooth athlete
-Extremely high skill-level for a big man. Terrific scoring instincts
-Can create his own shot from the perimeter with strong ball-handling skills and excellent footwork. Strong first step. Draws quite a few fouls
-Effective scorer out of isolation situations. Can even play some pick and roll as the ball-handler
-Has range out to 3-point line. Can make shots with feet set and off the dribble
-Career 31/78 (40%) 3P% in 40 games and 68% from the free throw line
-Has great touch around the basket. Throws in smooth floaters from different parts of the paint

Weaknesses:
-Wants to play strictly facing the basket. Has the ability to score in the post but doesn't show the inclination to do so
-Not an efficient offensive player. Career 132/275 (48%) from 2-point range.
-A ball-stopper offensively. Receives passes in the high post and then proceeds to dribble the air out of the ball, usually ending with a contested pull-up jumper (which sometimes goes in)
-Career 1/2 assist to turnover ratio.
-Shows very poor effort defensively. Operates at half speed. Doesn't box out for rebounds. Not a rim protector
-Doesn't have great lateral quickness defensively
-Very old for his class. Will be 20 by the time he plays his first college game

Outlook: Talented power forward who can do a little bit of everything offensively. Doesn't really know how to play and not someone that looks particularly enjoyable to play with. Team went 0-5 at Nations despite having a great deal of US talent on the roster. Preston got his (26 points per-40), but did so on abysmal shooting percentages (43% TS%) while playing little to no defense.

Interview