AS Estra Pistoia Basket 2000 is pleased to formalize the agreement, lasting one year, with the forward Elijah Childs who will be part of the red and white roster for the 2024/25 season in the LBA. Born on January 10, 1999 in Kansas City, 201cm for 104kg, he began his basketball journey at Lee’s Summit West at high school level and, in the summer of 2017, he moved to college defending the colors of the Bradley Braves and remained there for four years. Already in the rookie championship he stood out for great qualities that led him, as a rookie, to stay on the court almost 21′ on average with 8.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. From there his escalation found no brakes with the 2019/20 season, then interrupted due to Covid, which was the best ever: in 22 matches played, he scored 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds with almost 50% from two. Even in 2020/21 the figures remain substantially the same which give him, at just 21 and a half years old, the possibility of crossing the ocean and starting the adventure in Europe.
Basket Trapani in A2 believes in him: wearing the garnet jersey, he debuts in September 2021 in the Lnp Super Cup, facing Pistoia, who, a few weeks later, will win the title in Lignano Sabbiadoro. Childs, right from the start, confirms the leading numbers he had in the NCAA and closes the championship in Sicily with 14.9 points and 10.4 rebounds (best rebounder at the end of the regular season) thanks to 52.6% from 2 and 71% from free throws.
His performance did not go unnoticed and in 2022/23 he flew to Denmark with the Bakken Bears, a team with which he would win the championship at the end of the season: for Childs 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 24′ of average use with 56% from 2, with an important contribution also during the playoffs, in addition to making his debut in the European cups by overcoming the “Qualification Round” of the Fiba Champions League, reaching the first phase with 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in 25′ of use.
Last season, however, he landed in the Bundesliga where he played the first part of the championship with Riesen Ludwigsburg, averaging 9.3 points and 5 rebounds in 17′, to which he added 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds, always with the same minutes, in the Fiba Champions League, to then close the championship in Germany with Academics Heidelberg where he once again found space in the starting five and, in 16 matches played, totaled 16.1 points and 8 rebounds in 29′ of use with 50% from 2 and almost 2 assists per game.
“I am very happy to be back in Italy and to play for Pistoia – the first words as a new red and white player for Elijah Childs – I believe that this is a very important opportunity for my career and I am happy that the club has given me this chance. Since I played my year in A2 in Trapani I have always had admiration for the Italian championship and for Italy in general: I will find myself playing in a particularly tough and tough championship like Serie A, where in every match you have to give your all, play with great competitiveness and in a tough manner. My goal, for this year, is to reach the playoffs and show everyone what my playing characteristics are: I can’t wait to start”.
