Something is moving again at Estra Pistoia, which should be on the home straight to sign Elijah Childs, a 25-year-old forward/center seen in Italy in Serie A2 with the Trapani jersey in the 2021-22 season. A purchase that, in fact, closes the long package of the red and white team for next season. A product of Bradley University where in the last year he averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds, Childs made himself noticed in his first overseas adventure in Sicily and then moved to Denmark in 2022/2023 to the Bakken Bears, winning the championship and making his debut in the Champions League. Last year he started the season in the Bundesliga with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, also playing in the Champions League, and then moved to MLP Academics Heidelberg, also in the Bundesliga, where he closed the season with 16 points and 8.1 rebounds per game on average, contributing to the team’s salvation.
This is a player with great athleticism, able to play facing the basket in one-on-one and with a good mid-range shot. In his rookie season in Trapani in Serie A2 he finished with 18.6 points and 9.9 rebounds on average per game. With the arrival of Childs, Pistoia, as mentioned, effectively closes the department of long players that includes Brajkovic and Silins, putting more physicality and kilos under the boards. At that point the club will aim straight to form the department of the exteriors with the hiring of a guard and a forward, thus closing the circle of foreigners. The search should be oriented towards players with points in their hands, capable of attacking the basket but also with a good long-range shot. Once the discussion regarding foreigners is closed, the roll call would be missing an Italian player since the package currently consists of Della Rosa, Saccaggi and Anumba which should then be completed with two elements from the youth sector. All this while waiting for the name of the new coach to be announced, of which there is no big news to date.
Maurice Innocent
