It’s rare that a coach can comment on a player as soon as he commits, but in the case of five-star forward Billy Preston, who announced Friday on ESPNU that he would play his college basketball at Kansas, that was exactly the way it went down.

The reason? Even though Preston revealed his decision on Friday, he actually had made up his mind much sooner.

Preston told Matt Scott, of TheShiver.com, that he knew Kansas was the place for him a week or 10 days ago. That allowed him to sign his official letter of intent in the early signing period, which ended Wednesday, even though he waited for the national television audience to announce his choice.

All of that allowed KU coach Bill Self to offer his thoughts about the No. 8 player in the 2017 Class according to Rivals.com. And it’s clear that Self thinks the Jayhawks landed a good one.

“Obviously, we are very excited,” Self
said in a press release. “I don’t
think we’ve ever had the opportunity
to coach a taller, more athletic,
skill player than Billy. He has
guard-type athletic ability and skills
but, at 6-foot-10, he can be a force
inside as well. We are thrilled to
have Billy joining our basketball
program.”

Preston said his connection with Self and KU assistant Kurtis Townsend played a huge role in him picking the Jayhawks and Self said Townsend worked hard to land the Jayhawks’ second commitment in the 2017 class.

“Coach Townsend was the point man and
did a great job with Billy and his
family,” Self said. “I think what
actually sold them was on his official
visit he saw the interest level and
the love our fans have for our
players.”