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14-seed Ohio University upset 4-seed Virginia in the First Round of March Madness on Saturday. At the forefront of the incredible victory was junior point guard Jason Preston, who probably wouldn’t have played college basketball if not for Ohio giving him a chance.
His mother passed away from lung cancer in 2015, his father was not in the picture and his aunt, who lives in Jamaica, was named his guardian.
Slated to go to UCF as a student, Preston was living with his mom’s best friend’s son in an apartment in Orlando.He was 6-foot-0, 140 pounds as a senior in high school with no plans of continuing his basketball career. His friend asked him to play in an AAU tournament that year and Preston received interest from a coach who wanted him to play a year of prep school basketball.
At the school, there were four teams— the A team being potential college prospects and the D team being pickup game equivalent. He began on the C team but played well and was quickly moved up, before playing well again and reaching the A team. Preston was moved back down to the C team after some time on the highest level and dropped a triple-double in his first game back.
Without a single offer on the table, he made his own highlight tape and posted it on Twitter with hopes of getting a look. Ohio University gave him a shot and immediately packed on 20 pounds of muscle. Today, he stands 6-foot-4, 170 pounds and led the upset over the reigning national champions.
