BYU’S Egor Demin Excites At NBA Combine

It’s deja vu in Provo, Utah.

Prior to this most recent season, the last time BYU basketball had the made the sweet 16 was in 2011.

The last time BYU basketball had a player drafted into the NBA was… 2011.

This year, BYU made the sweet 16 after a hefty drought.

And this year, as the NBA combine unfurls, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that they will once again have a player selected in the NBA draft after a lengthy pause.

Apparently for the Cougars those two events must be intertwined.

Egor Demin, the one and done guard from Russia, spent a season as the Cougars floor general appearing in 33 games with averages of 10.6 points, 5.5 assist and 3.9 boards.

And his recent output in the NBA combine has scouts of multiple teams buzzing.

Demin was on the NBA radar before ever committing to Kevin Young and BYU.

His 6-9 height as a point guard combined with defensive capabilities, mixed with elite passing ability, playmaking attributes, and shooting potential made him a projected lottery pick before ever stepping foot on campus.

The college basketball season rolled on and came with good and bad for Egor, who had nights where he looked like a no-brain selection in the lottery, and then had stretches where he still seemed to raw to use a lottery selection on.

Demin’s stock fluctuated through the season as a potential top 5 pick to a late first rounder and anywhere in between as he dealt with shooting inconsistencies and lingering injuries.

The beautiful thing about being an NBA prospect, is that cold streaks or struggles don’t define who you are to an organization.

Many franchise front offices draft in regards to potential as much as they do proven capabilities.

Demin did enough at BYU to keep the interest and flash his potential, setting things up nicely at the NBA combine.

He entered as somewhat of a wild card.

Was his first step quick enough?

Was his athleticism solid enough?

Is his 27 % three point shooting at BYU fixable?

In just a couple of days, Demin has put in the work and has the NBA world reconsidering where he may actually go in the upcoming 2025 draft.

It started with an in depth measurement of his size and length:

Demin sized up even better than anticipated making the reality of him surviving as a playmaker and defender at the highest level even more likely.

Demin also made people think twice about his shooting potential in about 35 total seconds during his pro day.

Add these as potential answers to any questions people may have had about Demin, and scouts are refocusing on the type of player Egor could become at the pro level.

The ways in which a team could utilize his combo of skill and size is seemingly endless.

It's hard to form a full opinion on a player in a full season, let alone a couple of days, and Demin is a prime example of that.

But as of now, Egor Demin is moving up surely and steadily in each mock draft, and on each team's big board.

It will be exciting to see where the former Cougar ends up when the NBA draft takes place on June 25th, 6:00 mountain time.

We were already expecting him to come off the board in the first round, we just didn't know where.

After the last couple days, it seems one would be wise to anticipate a potential top half selection for what would become the first BYU player drafted since Jimmer Fredette.