Elijah Childs (born January 10, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Pistoia 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Bradley Braves.
 Childs with Heidelberg in 2024 | |
| Free Agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 10, 1999 |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Bradley (2017–2021) |
| NBA draft | 2021: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021–22 | Pallacanestro Trapani |
| 2022–2023 | Bakken Bears |
| 2023–2024 | MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg |
| 2024 | MLP Academics Heidelberg |
| 2024 | Pistoia 2000 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life and high school career
editGrowing up, Childs focused on football and baseball. He did not begin playing basketball until eighth grade, when friends recommended he try out as he was already 6'5". Childs attended Raytown South High School before transferring to Lee's Summit West High School.[1] As a junior, he averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game, earning All-Conference and All-State recognition.[2] During his senior season, Childs averaged 14.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He was named Suburban Gold Conference player of the year as well was First Team All-Metro by The Kansas City Star.[3] Childs was not highly recruited, receiving offers from Central Arkansas, Indiana State, and Missouri State, before committing to Bradley due to the suggestion of his father.[1]
College career
editChilds averaged 8.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game as a freshman, earning Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team honors.[4] He was named 2019 Missouri Valley Conference tournament MVP after averaging 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in three games. In the NCAA Tournament, Childs scored 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting and had six rebounds and three blocks in a loss to Michigan State. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, earning Third Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors.[5] Childs broke his middle finger in a game against Georgia Southern on December 15, 2019. After sitting out for three weeks, he re-injured it during a game against Northern Iowa, which required surgery.[1] Childs averaged 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as a junior.[6] He was named to the Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference.[7] In February 2021, he was indefinitely suspended due to a violation of program standards, and he missed the rest of the season.[8] It later emerged that he was investigated by the police for sodomy in the second degree.[9] As a senior, Childs averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.[10] He was named to the Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference.[11] Following the season, Childs entered the transfer portal, but ultimately decided to turn professional.[12]
Professional career
editOn July 26, 2021, Childs signed his first professional contract with Pallacanestro Trapani of the Serie A2 Basket.[10]
On July 14, 2022, he signed with Bakken Bears of the Basketligaen.[13]
On July 14, 2023, he signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga.[14]
On July 2, 2024, he signed with Pistoia 2000 of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[15]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Bradley | 33 | 12 | 20.9 | .502 | .280 | .537 | 6.2 | .6 | .7 | 1.4 | 8.4 |
| 2018–19 | Bradley | 35 | 34 | 29.5 | .471 | .236 | .659 | 7.8 | 1.0 | .8 | 1.4 | 12.4 |
| 2019–20 | Bradley | 22 | 22 | 30.0 | .498 | .212 | .711 | 8.6 | 1.1 | .4 | 1.4 | 14.8 |
| 2020–21 | Bradley | 22 | 22 | 31.2 | .476 | .355 | .700 | 8.3 | 1.0 | .9 | 1.3 | 14.2 |
| Career | 112 | 90 | 27.4 | .484 | .264 | .647 | 7.6 | .9 | .7 | 1.4 | 12.1 | |
Personal life
editChilds is the son of Keisha Cook and Daron Childs. His mother is a nurse while his father works on the assembly line at Ford Motors. Childs has two older siblings, Markevian and Robert Cornelius; a fraternal twin Isaiah, and a younger brother Daron Jr. He studied communications at Bradley.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Eminian, ave (December 27, 2020). "'Dream big': Bradley basketball star Elijah Childs has a goal in mind for his team, and his future". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Rader, Chad (December 12, 2016). "Season Preview: Lee's Summit West". 810Varsity. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ McDowell, Sam; Torres, Maria (April 1, 2017). "The Kansas City Star's All-Metro boys basketball team for 2016-17". Kansas City Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Reynolds, Dave (October 22, 2018). "Hoops! Big year appears on tap for Bradley's Elijah Childs". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ "Elijah Childs Named Bradley Athlete of the Month". Bradley Braves. April 5, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Lorenzi, Joel (December 21, 2020). "MU's frontcourt faces challenge to round out early nonconference slate". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ "AJ Green of UNI is the 2020 Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year" (PDF). Missouri Valley Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Eminian, Dave (February 14, 2021). "Bradley basketball suspends Elijah Childs, three other players from Missouri State series". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Wheeler, Wyatt (May 20, 2021). "Bradley star Elijah Childs enters transfer portal while Springfield prosecutors consider criminal charges". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Eminian, Dave (July 29, 2021). "Former Bradley star forward Elijah Childs has a new basketball home". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Eminian, Dave (March 3, 2021). "Bradley basketball players earn Missouri Valley Conference honors". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ Eminian, Dave (May 28, 2021). "A look at who's coming, who's going as Elijah Childs makes his move and Bradley summer camp approaches". Journal Star. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
- ^ "Bakken Bears henter ung amerikaner i Italien". bakkenbears.com (in Norwegian). July 14, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Energie, Athletik, Defensive: Elijah Childs". mhp-riesen-ludwigsburg.de (in German). July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
- ^ "Estra Pistoia Basket annuncia l'arrivo di Elijah Childs". pistoiabasket2000.com (in Italian). July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.