Blue-chip power forward Billy Preston schedules Late Night visit to Kansas

Billy Preston, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior forward from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., announced Thursday on Twitter he’d be attending Kansas’ Late Night in the Phog on Oct. 1 in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’ll be at Late Night KU,” read the tweet of Preston, the No. 8-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2017 according to Rivals.com.

Preston, who is originally from Los Angeles, has a final list of KU, USC, Indiana, Maryland and North Carolina State. He’ll visit the Trojans’ campus in L.A., on Oct. 8.

Preston played last season for Advanced Prep International in Texas. He’s also attended St. John Bosco and Redondo Union High Schools in California. Playing for Houston Hoops AAU with fellow KU target Jarred Vanderbilt (6-8 senior, Houston Victory Prep, ranked No. 21), Preston averaged 13.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game during the Nike EYBL circuit last spring.

“I talk to coach (Bill) Self and coach (Kurtis) Townsend on a regular basis. I’m just going to take a deeper look into the program and what the relationship is like with the team,” Preston told Rivals.com.

Preston is the fifth uncommitted senior high school blue-chipper to announce plans to attend Late Night.

The others: Collin Sexton, 6-1 point guard from Pebblebrook High in Mableton, Ga., ranked No. 7 nationally; Troy Brown, 6-6 shooting guard from Las Vegas Centennial, ranked No. 12; Cody Riley, 6-7 forward, Sierra Canyon High, Chatsworth, Calif., ranked No. 34 and Tremont Waters, 5-11 point guard from Notre Dame High in West Haven, Conn., ranked No. 36.

Marcus Garrett, a 6-5 combo guard from Dallas Skyline, who has committed to KU, will attend on an unofficial visit. He’s ranked No. 37 overall.

Trae Young enjoyed visit to OU

Trae Young, a 6-2 senior combo guard from Norman (Okla.) North High, who is ranked No. 14 in the Class of 2017 by Rivals.com, visited Oklahoma last weekend. He’s slated to visit his dad, Rayford’s alma mater, Texas Tech, on Sept. 30 with a visit to KU set for Oct. 21.

The Norman Transcript says Young met with OU football coach Bob Stoops a day before the Sooners’ huge game against Ohio State.

“There were a lot of things I hadn’t seen before. It’s just a lot of cool stuff and they rolled out the red carpet for me for sure,” Young told the Transcript.

Many recruiting experts believe Kentucky is the favorite to land Young. He’ll visit UK the week before his KU visit.

“Me and coach Cal (John Calipari, UK), I just got off the phone with him. We’re really close,” Young told the Transcript. “He’s made me a top priority in their class, the top player that they want. What more could you ask for when Kentucky does that?”

Young has not yet announced visit dates for Washington or Oklahoma State, also on his list.　

Tickets for Kansas’ basketball game against Indiana in the 2016 Armed Forces Classic will go on sale at 2 p.m, Central time, Friday at ETicketHawaii.com.

Tickets for the doubleheader pitting KU against Indiana and Michigan State against Arizona on Nov. 11 in Honolulu also can be purchased by visiting the Hawaii Athletics box office or by calling 808-944-2697 during normal business hours.

This will be the only time public tickets will be offered for the Classic, to be contested in 10,300-seat Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii campus. Tickets are $30.

The Armed Forces Classic has matched college teams since 2012 on United States military bases worldwide. It was recently announced that the 2016 Classic would be moved from a hangar at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to the Sheriff Center to accommodate more fans and also because the hangar was not air conditioned.

This story was originally published September 22, 2016 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Blue-chip power forward Billy Preston schedules Late Night visit to Kansas."