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PROVO — With one swift motion and a fastbreak dunk, Yoeli Childs etched himself into BYU basketball lore.
If there was any doubt before, there isn’t now. The stats back it up.
With 10 points in the first half — really, by his sixth point, but who’s counting? — the former Bingham High star pulled himself into the top 10 of BYU’s all-time scoring list, passing the great Mark Bigelow's 1,715 career points.
Childs totaled 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in Saturday night’s 79-73 win over Oral Roberts to help the Cougars end nonconference play in his senior season with an 11-4 mark.
And as his numbers continue to climb — his 1,736 points is just four points behind former Provo High star Mekeli Wesley for No. 9 in BYU history — Childs is sure to leave an even more unforgettable impression on the Cougar faithful.
He’s no longer just a great player, an "awesome" player like his teammates call him, or a loveable player — one who shakes hands with each reporter one-by-one after every practice or game in which he leaves a big mark.
Childs is entering all-time territory.
'Bout time, right?
"You've got to shoot a lot of shots to score points," Childs said. "I'm just grateful for my teammates, and how much they feed me. This coaching staff, as well as the past coaching staff, has drawn a lot of stuff up for me.
"If you throw the ball up enough, it should go in sometimes."
Jeff Chatman, 1984-88, 1,824 points. Fred Roberts, 1978-82, 1,841. Russell Larson, 1991-95, 1,885. Devin Durrant, 2,285 points. These are just some of the names Childs will join by season's end.
It's unlikely that he'll reach the lofty heights of BYU all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws (2,720 points, 2009-10 / 12-15) or Jimmer Fredette (2,599 points, 2007-11). But he's also currently No. 2 all-time in career rebounds — trailing Kyle Collinsworth, 1,047 to 941 — and fifth in blocks, just 16 behind Larson's 166 career stuffs.
For Childs to do it with this team, as a senior, on a club that ranks among the best 3-point shooting squads in the nation, is special. It means something, considering Childs has a chance of playing in the NBA, as a power forward or a stretch-four, to accomplish what he has on a team where the three-ball plays such a pivotal role in the offense.
Or maybe the Cougars' 3-point shooting is helped by Childs, despite the fact that he missed the first nine games of the 2019-20 season and is shooting 7-of-11 from 3-point range himself.
"We want to have an aggressive mentality," teammate Jake Toolson said after the Cougars shot just 30 percent from three against the Golden Eagles. "It helps to have Yo down there, to finish around the rim.
"One-on-one in the post, we have guys who can score down low — but if not, they throw it out and get an open look."
Of course, none of those records will matter to Childs. That's what he’ll say, anyway. What does matter to him is winning — games, tournaments, titles.
And especially NCAA Tournament berths. The Cougars (11-4) have as good a chance at that as virtually any team in the country, ranked in the top-30 in the NCAA's NET rankings and top-40 in KenPom.
Dreams are still dreams, but if BYU continues to take care of business, the Cougars may be dreaming of March by February.
"I think we’ve learned how to battle through adversity," Childs said after completing nonconference play. "Everybody picks each other up.
"Everyone's aware of body language, of the frustration that goes on throughout a game, and we just battle that until the outcome is what we want. It makes me look forward to conference. It’s a beast, it's a grind, but I know we're going to keep our heads high, no matter what happens. It’s going to make us successful."
To continue at that pace, they’ll have to survive the West Coast Conference. That means surviving the No. 1 team in the country, Gonzaga (13-1), and Saint Mary’s (13-2), a team that already has a win over a Utah opponent.
They'll also have to beat out 11-2 Santa Clara, 11-3 San Francisco and 12-4 Pacific, to name a few of the hottest starting teams in the conference in BYU coach Mark Pope’s first season in the league.
"The league is really good, and it’s going to be really competitive," Pope said. "It's a great league. The people who don’t know basketball look at the small gyms, and think it’s not a great league. But it’s a freaking great league. It’s really competitive, and I’m glad we are in it. That’s what you want to do; you want to play against good teams."
