NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Utah of last decade
By Joey Loose
3. Yoeli Childs – BYU
A consensus 4-star recruit, Childs was another promising young athlete from the state who eventually decided on BYU. A 6’8 forward from South Jordan, he was a top 100 recruit who fit nicely with the Cougars, spending most of his four seasons starting at BYU. He flirted with the draft process multiple times, which cost him part of his senior season due to paperwork issues, but Childs stayed for four seasons at BYU and the Cougars were glad to have his services.
Childs emerged and developed into one of the best big men on the west coast. He averaged at least 8 rebounds a game in every season and really came on as a scorer in his later years. After putting up 17.8 points a game as a junior, he’d average at least 21 points in both of his final seasons, becoming BYU’s most important offensive player. Near the end of his career, he scored a career-high 38 points in a win over Pepperdine, though he sadly never managed to appear in the NCAA Tournament.
Just from a numerical standpoint, Childs was an impressive player, leading the WCC in either points or rebounds in those final two seasons. He was named First Team All-WCC both years and deserved the honor, becoming the impact player for these Cougars. He finished his career with over 2000 points and 1000 rebounds, the first Cougar to accomplish that feat. Undrafted after an impressive collegiate career, the last two years have seen him playing in the G-League and internationally, most recently suiting up in Germany.