Losing a player like Eric Mika early is a big blow to BYU’s hopes of finally winning the West Coast Conference. Sophomore Yoeli Childs is doing his best to make up for the lost production.
Last season was supposed to be about the “Lone Peak 3” with Eric Mika, TJ Haws, and Nick Emery leading the program back to national prominence when Cougar legend Jimmer Fredette was around. It also was going to be the time where they dethrone Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s to win the WCC regular season and conference tournament.
That didn’t work out, with another third-place finish and another year in the NIT. The only bright spot for the team was Yoeli Childs. He stepped into the starting lineup after Kyle Davis went down with a knee injury. Considering that he was the fifth option on the court at times, his 9.3 ppg and 8.8 rpg averages were admirable. The individual highlight of his season was a 23 and 17 performance at San Francisco.
With Mika gone, it is now Childs who will be the go-to guy down low. There have been a couple of exhibitions played so far, an, while a grain of salt should be taken with the results, the play of Childs has been noticed early on.
BYU's Yoeli Childs with 17, 19, and 4 blocks in an exhibition win over New Mexico. One of CBB's least appreciated players. All-WCC player.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 28, 2017
In the inter-squad scrimmage, Childs dominated his peers on the frontcourt to the tune of 23 points and seven rebounds. He also got nearly half the total rebounds for the team in the game against New Mexico. Even with the team appearing to be focused more on the perimeter, Childs will be the player who determines where BYU goes this season.
There are some things to think about with how Childs plays. While he was third in the league in total rebounds, that was in part due to opposing teams refusing to crash the glass and get back on defense. That was because of how awful the half-court offense was for the Cougars last year.
There’s also has been talk of playing him at the five spot with a four-guard lineup. That could be a mistake due to his size. He does have a good frame, but, at only 6’8, he’ll have trouble defending true centers in the WCC. When playing schools with bigger post players like USC, Saint Mary’s, and Gonzaga last year, he was ineffective at times.
He also had issues with foul trouble, and the goal should be protecting him on defense. Outside of the former Bingham star, there are questions all over the frontline for BYU. If he goes out, it becomes a glaring weakness for the team.
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Right now people have BYU closer to the Dons and Santa Clara than the Bulldogs and Gaels. In order to crack the top two and put themselves in a position for an at-large bid, Childs has to play at a similar level to Mika a year ago. Dave Rose and the team are staring three years of exclusion from March Madness right in the face, and Childs more than any other guy on the roster will be the key to get a different result.