Demin\u2019s workouts started at 6 a.m. during the season, and it showed in BYU\u2019s most important stretch.<\/a> Demin also shot well during the NBA Draft combine in Chicago.<\/p>\n(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU basketball player Egor Demin announces his plans to enter the NBA Draft, where he would likely be a first-round pick in June, during a news event in Provo on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what two NBA sources told The Athletic about Demin recently:<\/p>\n
Eastern Conference scout: \u201cEgor shot the ball well in Chicago in that one-on-none; but the game\u2019s played at 7, with people in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Western Conference executive: \u201cHis vision and passing stuff, he\u2019s not (Luka) Don\u010di\u0107. But this kid can pass it and has size and can play in an NBA game, because he can think on his own. He doesn\u2019t need a script and look at it and has to learn it. He understands flow, who needs touches, time management, already. He\u2019s mature beyond what he would be as a rookie. At worst, (he\u2019s Josh) Giddey, in that hemisphere of a clone. The shooting piece, I\u2019m not concerned with. He\u2019ll figure that out. \u2026 Overall, he may be getting a little undervalued. When I saw him early, I figured if he played 34, 36 minutes a game, he could come close \u2014 I\u2019m not saying he would \u2014 to averaging a triple-double. And I don\u2019t think he was playing with that great (a group) of guys around him. How many other guys from that team are going to be pulling down a pro paycheck, except for maybe one or two of them?<\/p>\n
4. He needs to add muscle<\/p>\n
Demin is 6-foot-9 but struggled with the Big 12\u2019s physicality in the early parts of the league play. Demin added 16 pounds to his frame and he was able to dictate the flow of the game better as he was more comfortable. <\/p>\n
The added strength also allowed Demin to shoot better throughout the year, Fanning said. Playing more under control and taking better shots also went a long way. <\/p>\n
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cincinnati Bearcats forward Dillon Mitchell (23) collides with Brigham Young Cougars guard Egor Demin (3), in Big 12 basketball action between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Marriott Center, in Provo, on Saturday, Jan 25, 2025.
<\/p>\n
Demin will need to add more weight in the NBA.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what one anonymous college assistant coach told The Athletic about Demin: \u201cHe\u2019s frail, but he\u2019s tall and he\u2019s long. When we played them, our whole thing was we were going to get up and pressure him, pressure him, pressure him. He can make all the reads, all the passes, both hands. He\u2019s got all that down, especially when he sees the same coverages over and over. \u2026 We were like, let\u2019s attack him. Trap the ball screen, go under. We kept switching it up. He struggled a little bit with that. I think he\u2019s a good player, the Josh Giddey-ish type guy. I think he\u2019s going to end up shooting it better. The NBA guys were asking me, \u201cWell, what worries you?\u201d It\u2019s so physical (in the NBA). He\u2019ll have to get adjusted to that, because he\u2019s light in the ass that way. I think he\u2019s going to just have to figure that out. Once he (does) that, he\u2019ll be fine. Probably will wind up being a backup point guard for some years, because he\u2019s got size, he can make shots. And he can really pass.”<\/p>\n
5. NBA milestone for BYU<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU basketball player Egor Demin, signs a few jerseys for a Russian organization called God Ball, after announcing his plans to enter the NBA Draft, where he would likely be a first-round pick in June, during a news event in Provo on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.<\/p>\n
Demin\u2019s selection, wherever he lands, will be a milestone both for BYU\u2019s future and its past. <\/p>\n
This will be Young\u2019s first draft pick at the college level. That will be a recruiting tool for Young, proof of concept his vision can work in Provo. <\/p>\n
Young will have more draft picks next year with AJ Dybantsa<\/a> and Richie Saunders. But the first pick is a big step.<\/p>\nBYU\u2019s only had six players drafted inside the top 14 picks. Jimmer Fredette was the most recent, going 10th to the Sacramento Kings in 2011. Before that, BYU had Rafael Ara\u00fajo picked eighth in 2003 and Shawn Bradley second in 1993. Michael Smith went 13th in 1989. But you\u2019d have to go back decades for the final two. Mel Hutchins went second in 1951 and Craig Raymond went 12th in 1967. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Moscow to March Madness to the NBA: The 6-foot-9 point guard\u2019s rise and draft outlook. (Rick Egan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1583,7,1581,1580,1582,6,12,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-123465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-athletics","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-brigham-young-university","11":"tag-byu","12":"tag-cougars","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-draft","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114743920919428561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}