'He had a huge heart:' Ryan Preston, former URI basketball player, dies in Bahrain
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Ryan Preston came to the University of Rhode Island for his official visit prior to the 2017-18 men’s basketball season.
The Brooklyn native was playing at a junior college in Texas and was weighing his options. Preston met with former head coach Dan Hurley and assistant (and current head coach) David Cox in the basketball offices at the close of his time on campus.
“He shared some things with coaches that you’re not supposed to share with coaches,” Cox said. “He was raw. Danny and I looked at each other — Danny being a Jersey boy and me being from D.C. — and we knew this kid had character.
“He had a huge heart. He was willing to change. He just needed a change of environment. So we decided to give him that opportunity, and he’s probably one of my biggest success stories as a coach.”
Cox’s eyes reddened as he spoke on the floor at the Ryan Center. The university confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Preston had died due to injuries suffered in a motor vehicle crash in Bahrain. He was 24 years old.
Preston was on his second professional basketball stop, having spent the 2019-20 season in Portugal. An athletic 6-foot-7 left-hander, he played in 42 games through two seasons with the Rams from 2017-19. Preston was a reserve with the program’s regular-season Atlantic 10 champions as a junior, the first time URI had captured a league crown since the rebranding of the old Eastern 8.
“He was a raw basketball player — basically just an athlete,” Cox said. “All the work he put into his game and all the determination he had turned him into a professional player and a professional person.
“As a father, as a coach, as a mentor — those types of memories really make you proud, and they stand out.”
Preston finished his secondary education in the rugged Canarsie section of his borough — as of 2018, roughly 21% of its population lived below the poverty line. He graduated from South Shore High and played on the grassroots circuit with the powerful New York Rens. Preston went on to spend two years at Trinity Valley Community College before committing to the Rams.
“It was an opportunity he latched onto more than necessarily us at the time, to be honest with you,” Cox said. “He took that opportunity and he ran with it.
“He helped us win a championship. He graduated. He pursued his goals professionally. It’s a tragic, tragic loss.”
Preston appeared in the first eight games of his 2017-18 debut season but played sparingly the rest of the way. His six points and eight rebounds in a win over Brown early in 2018-19 suggested he might take on a larger role, but Preston continued largely as an extra piece late into that season. He was suspended prior to a February meeting with Fordham for expressing frustration with his playing time on social media, but Preston eventually returned to the bench and netted a career-high 12 points in a March win over Massachusetts.
“He made a decision,” Cox said. “It’s kind of hard to do at 18, 19 — to make that decision to change. And he made a decision to change his ways.
“There were some bumps along the way, which is par for the course. But this is a kid who learned to value his education and graduated. He made the honor roll at one point while he was here. He worked on his game tremendously while he was here.”
Preston graduated from URI with a degree in communications and was a Dean’s List student during at least one semester. He was signed with Isa Town in the Bahraini Premier League, which opened its season in early September.
Preston leaves his mother, Melanie, and his brother, Robert. Cox said the Rams will wear black strips across one shoulder on their uniforms for the remainder of the season. A moment of silence will be held prior to Wednesday’s 6 p.m. tip with Boston College.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ryan Preston, former URI basketball player, dies in Bahrain from crash
