BYU's Egor Demin is already drawing national attention

BYU basketball's top prospect is already making waves across the basketball world.
Egor Demin is at the helm of BYU's offense.
Egor Demin is at the helm of BYU's offense. / Chris Gardner/GettyImages
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Only one game into the season, and Egor Demin already has the college basketball world buzzing. In his season opener against Central Arkansas, he led the BYU Cougars to a blowout victory while stiffing the stat sheet at every opportunity.

It's not only that he makes plays that finish with an extra tally on his box score, but it's that he makes winning plays with his elite game feel and passing ability so smooth, you'd think that Egor is employing angels to gingerly deliver each of his passes in the perfect spot every time.

The Kevin Young experiment is going extremely well, I'd say.

But BYU fans aren't the only ones getting hyped about their Russian superstar. Experts from across the basketball world are loving what they see from the projected lottery pick, and it's not hyperbole to say that Demin is suddenly shooting up draft boards, even from his late lottery position.

Though he's surprisingly athletic, and his jump shot looks excellent in this small sample, it's Egor's basketball IQ and his ability to manipulate the defense with the small details that has analysts losing their minds at his potential.

On a night that the Cougars shared with the presidential election, it could be difficult to tell who was anxiously awaiting the result of the vote, and who was simply a college basketball fan losing their minds over Egor's 18 and 11.

Egor keeps shoveling coal into the furnace that powers the Cougars' offense, and it's wonderful to see how his teammates thrive on his passing ability and gravitational pull. When Demin touches the basketball, all eyes are on him--similar to Stephen Curry, but to a much lesser degree--but they're mostly worried about where the ball may whip to next. If they aren't careful, he will gladly knock down a 3-pointer over the sagging defense, which is a shot he hit 4 of his 7 attempts.

Deadly.

We have plenty to get excited about in Provo, and BYU basketball's next era should be one to watch for everyone across the college basketball landscape.

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