alt=Jeff CallPROVO — For the first time since suffering a compound dislocation of the right index finger on his shooting hand during practice exactly two weeks earlier, BYU senior forward Yoeli Childs participated in drills with his team Tuesday afternoon.
Childs has missed the past four games due to the injury.
Last Saturday at Gonzaga, he was dressed, with his finger bandaged, and he warmed up with his teammates but ultimately he sat on the bench and did not play in the Cougars’ 92-69 loss at The Kennel.
The Cougars are 6-1 this season with Childs on the floor and 8-5 without him. He was also sidelined for the first nine games of the season due to an NCAA suspension. Childs is BYU’s leading scorer (20.9) and rebounder (10.1)
So what is his status going into this weekend’s big West Coast Conference road trip, when BYU visits Pacific on Thursday and San Francisco on Saturday?
“We’re 100% sure that we’re 100% not sure,” coach Mark Pope said. “He practiced today. There was a little bit of contact today and he seemed like he was functioning pretty good. He’s a little bit rusty, as you would imagine. I’m hopeful that it’s coming soon. Hopefully, this weekend. We’ll just see. It will be on if he’s able to catch a contested ball and finish at the rim. … He makes our team better. He makes us deeper. We’ve just got to make sure that he comes back when it’s right so we can actually finish this season and not have a setback.”
Pope said Tuesday’s practice marked “the first time he’s had any contact. It was nice to see him out there running around a little bit. It was good for everybody. Clearly, Yoeli’s such a talented player and clearly we all want him back and he makes a huge impact on the game. And just the fact of having another body out there is so important, too. Even if he wasn’t one of the top players in college basketball, it still would be great just to have another functioning body. So we get a double bonus with him being on the practice court for a couple of drills.”
Forward Dalton Nixon enjoyed having Childs participating in practice.
“It was great. He’s such a physical presence. Hopefully, we can get him on the floor soon. We hope everything goes well because this is a big road trip,” he said.” We’re definitely going to need everyone to contribute. Yoeli’s busted his butt to do what he can while he’s been out with his finger injury. We’re excited to have him back.”
Is it difficult for BYU’s players to go into games uncertain if Childs will be available to play or not?
“Every day, you come and get to work. That’s another identity of this team, no matter what it is ... it’s to be all-in and be 100%,” Nixon said. “That’s what coach asks of each and every one of us. Whoever’s available is going to come and bring their ‘A’ game. Whether we have Yoeli or whether we don’t have Yoeli, our mindset doesn’t really change. Personally, I want him back. That’s my guy. He’s a huge leader and a huge piece of this puzzle that we want as we move to the back half of the season.”
Pope has been impressed with the way Childs has handled himself amid plenty of adversity this season, including the past couple of weeks.
“He’s just a stud. He’s a really incredible human being. He’s just stayed focused on trying to help his team get better and find ways that he can get better even when he’s not playing,” Pope said. “Of course, he’s super anxious to get back out on the floor and be able to compete and perform. I think today was probably pretty therapeutic for him to be engaged in some of the drills. He was 100% convinced that he could have played the day after, with his bone sticking out of his finger. He was like, ‘I can go. Let’s go. Give me some duct tape.’ … It’s our job to make sure that he stays safe and as healthy as we can get him.”
BYU (14-6, 3-2) at Pacific (15-6, 3-2)
Thursday, 8 p.m. MST
Spanos Center
TV: Stadium
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM