BYU basketball dominates in exhibition game behind Egor Demin

BYU basketball didn't skip a beat with all the turnover that passed through the program upon the exit of Mark Pope. Such a drastic and sudden change at the head of a program could lead to years of rebuilding and retooling to develop some semblance of the basketball team we missed.

BYU didn't need to rebuild; they reloaded.

Swapping the likes of Jaxson Robinson, Noah Waterman, and Aly Khalifa for players like Egor Demin, Kanon Catchings, and Keba Keita is a most welcome tradeoff on paper. But when these players took the floor of the Marriott Center to a packed arena last night, everyone could tell that something incredible was in the works behind Kevin Young's craftsmanship.

The Cougars squared off with a Division 2 squad in this exhibition game, and went deep into their roster for time to share the floor for many players.

Demin, Mag, Boskovic, and Catchings all saw playing time in this one, despite Boskovic currently awaiting NCAA clearance to play this season and Mag and Catchings sitting out BYU's secret scrimmage against Boise State, which the Cougars reportedly won 91-86.

Naturally, this matchup was an easy victory with increased talent on the floor.

Demin and Keita's chemistry already looks fantastic, and they could operate one of the most unstoppable pick-and-roll combos in the nation. They've looked that good together.

Seeing how the players responded to their new surroundings, and seeing the joy on the faces of young players like Catchings, who got his first minutes of NCAA basketball competition, is wonderful to witness.

"It felt good," Catchings said of his first game, "It's something you think about since you were like 5 years old. It felt surreal."

Demin is a puppet master when he operates the offense, pulling all the right strings in all the right places to move the defense to do his will, rather than waiting for his defenders to provoke a reaction. He's the real deal, and reportedly recorded double-digit assists in this one.

The Cougars led this one to the final buzzer, and in a game that wasn't televised (not even on BYUtv), the fan support was higher than typical for such an inconsequential matchup. BYU looks like an explosive and talented group this year, and after we got a glimpse of the future of BYU hoops, I'd say there's plenty to be excited about with the group on the floor right now.

And of course, we have even better things on the horizon. It's a great time to be a Cougar fan.

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