Yoeli Childs Improved To Game-Time Decision Before Tip Against No. 1 Gonzaga
Jan 18, 2020, 7:55 PM | Updated: Jan 19, 2020, 12:31 am
SPOKANE, Washington – In a surprising turn of events, BYU senior forward Yoeli Childs was dressed and going through warmups before the Cougars game against No. 1 Gonzaga. Childs has been sidelined since January 7th due to a dislocation of the index finger on his shooting hand.
Earlier this week during his weekly coaches show head coach Mark Pope said that Childs would be out for another week at least. So seeing Childs out on the floor in warmups and listed as a “game-time decision” was a shocking development.
#BYU looks to get another signature win to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume as they take on the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The big question from Spokane, will Yoeli Childs (finger) play?@BYUbasketball #BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/bGInWiEUYt
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 19, 2020
Childs has played in seven games this season and is one of the top players in the country averaging 20.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The senior star has missed BYU’s biggest games this season against the likes of San Diego State, Kansas, Virginia Tech because of the NCAA suspension and then most recently the road trip to Saint Mary’s due to the finger injury.
Childs didn’t end up playing in BYU’s 23-point loss against the Zags. In the postgame interview on the BYU Sports Network aired on KSL NewsRadio, head coach Mark Pope said Childs is “day-to-day” and that they are being sensitive with when Yoeli comes back to the court.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
