Back to the BYU Cougars Newsfeed

Former BYU hoops coach Steve Cleveland says Cougar players leaving early disruptive, costly

Nick Wagner, Deseret News

BYU forward Eric Mika (12) bumps his chest against BYU forward Yoeli Childs (23) during an NCAA college basketball game against Cal State Bakersfield in Provo on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016.

The early departure by BYU basketball players, not for the NBA, but for European professional contracts, is hurting the program and now star Yoeli Childs could follow.

There are myriad hurdles facing the Cougar program and veteran coach Dave Rose these days and a lot of it was on display during an embarrassing exit at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas over the weekend.