His name is Egor Demin. I advise you to commit it to memory. The Moscow native playing his lone season of college ball with Brigham Young University stamped his name on the score sheet during the Cougars' first-round victory over VCU.
The haters said he would crumble under the pressure. The haters said BYU would collapse taking the brunt of VCU's suffocating defense. They said Demin couldn't score. He couldn't dribble. He can't do this, he won't do that.
The haters were dead wrong. Honestly, a terrible call by the haters.
Like the relentless sands of time, Egor saw his draft stock slowly slipping through his ever-clenching grip as the year advanced. From a sure-thing top-five prospect to a late lottery likely, and even down into the 20s, Demin had become something of a hidden dragon among crouching tigers.
It didn't take long before the lights of the game's most visible stage illuminated the tool bench at the lengthy guard's disposal.
Yes, even while faced with the aggressive, hunting defenders employed by Virginia Commonwealth, Demin didn't stutter while fighting off opposing hand checks. He yawned as the 11-seed pushed a full-court press, and professionally filed a complaint with HR when the visitors got a bit too handsy.
Going under the screen? Three-ball -- blammo. Overplaying the passing lanes? A double-scoop sundae under and around the cup, if you please. Step for step as he penetrates the paint? Egor Demin reached into their chest and extracted their still-beating heart with a ball fake here and a turnaround jumper there.
Poetic in every way, Egor Demin ignited Kevin Young's offensive attack to lift the Cougars into the Round of 32.
He scored 15 points on 6/10 shooting from the field. Knocking through a trio of three-pointers, Demin's shooting efficiency finally matched his release -- the feathery flick at the apex of the jumper hasn't delivered this freshman much success from beyond the arc to this point in the year (only a 27% shooter on the year).
BYU freshman Egor Demin puts up 15 on 6-10 FG in his March Madness debut 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rMkut40mUP
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 20, 2025
Knocking through three of his four pulls in the first half opened the offense up in tremendously in the second half.
Here's the bottom line: careers are solidified and eyebrows are raised when players show up on the largest stage. Demin's freshman year has been equal parts valley to peak. When the world is watching, he delivered and solidified his standing as an NBA prospect to be taken seriously.
So it's time to stop calling him "Igor Denim". BYU's 6-foot-9 point guard has arrived on the scene. It's time to catch up.