BYU basketball: Cougars loss to St. Mary’s teaches us something
BYU basketball fell to Saint Mary’s in the Marriott Center in disappointing fashion. But, importantly, the loss taught everyone something.
When BYU basketball fell in overtime to the Saint Mary’s Gaels, it left a sour taste in the mouth. The Cougars were up, they were playing well. It seemed like a win was coming.
Then Elijah Bryant drove to the basket, kicked it out to a wide-open Zac Seljaas in the corner. Cougar Nation was ready to explode. Seljaas, the prolific 3-point shooter, surely wouldn’t miss this shot. Your uncle, with two bad knees that insists on playing pick up hoops with you would hit this shot.
But it didn’t fall.
And the Cougars ran out of gas in overtime.
But in loss, BYU basketball learned something.
The Cougars learned that Yoeli Childs is an animal, but he’s not elite yet. He’s not quite good enough to shoulder the load offensively while defending the opposing team’s best player.
It seemed like head coach Dave Rose knew this, too. Because for the first 30 minutes or so against the Gaels, Childs didn’t guard Jock Landale. Through that point in the game, Childs was 10-for-15 on offense.
In the final nine or so minutes in regulation (plus overtime), Childs started taking on Landale. And things got ugly quick.
He finished the game on a 1-for-8 shooting run, while Landale never slowed. In the end, the Gaels’ junior center scored 31 points on 13-for-15 shooting.
The lesson to be learned?
Yoeli Childs is great at basketball. But he’s not elite yet. He can’t guard great players and continue to score. He can be a center against most teams, but squads with elite bigs will make the Cougars pay for their lack of post presence.
What does it mean? It means the play of Payton Dastrup and Luke Worthington is even more important. They’ll need to shoulder some of the defensive responsibility so Childs can continue to wreak havoc on the low post offensively.
But there’s nothing to worry about yet. Childs is just a sophomore and has a very bright future ahead.