On the 28th of May in the land of Provo, Utah, the townsfolk awoke to a beautiful morning. Following the Memorial Day holiday, the sunlight flooded the landscape, birds sang their joyful tunes from the leafy treetops, and a calm fell over the valley.
Suddenly, the peaceful land exploded with the sounds of rejoicing. The people buzzed with excitement with a giddiness unforeseen in some time. But what initiated this great commotion, you ask? The answer has everything to do with an international basketball talent announcing his commitment to BYU basketball.
ESPN Sources with @Draftexpress: Real Madrid’s Egor Demin — a projected 2025 NBA Draft lottery pick — has committed to BYU and coach Kevin Young for the 2024-‘25 season. Demin’s a highly skilled 6-9 Russian guard who’ll arrive as one of most talented recruits in program history. pic.twitter.com/EJcNAyqN9N
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 28, 2024
Let us rejoice in song!
The rumors are true--Egor Demin has officially committed to BYU and will be joining the team for the 2024-25 season. In case you don't understand the magnitude of this pickup for the BYU program, let me share why Demin is such a big deal for BYU.
Egor Demin is a 6'9" who has been playing with Real Madrid overseas and is a likely one-and-done prospect. The Russian-born point guard has been growing in popularity across college basketball, as he showed significant interest in playing NCAA hoops before making the leap to the NBA. Kevin Young promised NBA talent, and he's delivered.
Demin's skill set has him projected as a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He drew interest from Illinois, Arkansas, and USC among others. Immediately following an article on this page advising that we keep our expectations low in regard to any commitments or significant news from BYU's recruiting targets, Demin made me look foolish. I couldn't be happier!
Demin fits the archetype of the modern NBA star, similar to Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. While obviously to a lesser extent, Demin flourished while playing with Real Madrid (which Doncic also suited up for before making the leap to the NBA). He's a great ball-handler and has fantastic court vision. Demin is a natural scorer with a beautiful shooting stroke--he's comfortable launching from anywhere on the court.
Exciting addition for BYU. NBA scouts scour the globe seeking out prospects like Egor Demin -- a fluid 6'9 playmaker with dynamic shot-making prowess, vision and passing creativity, explosiveness, and the versatility to guard and play multiple positions. https://t.co/RSZOJTN9A5 pic.twitter.com/8GHTdWWcrd
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 28, 2024
The NBA has been built on bigger guards operating their offenses and terrorizing defenses with their heliocentric play. While I don't anticipate this to be Kevin Young's approach with BYU's offense, I do expect to see much of the team's offense run through Demin. He's a gifted passer and shows that he's capable of running an offense when given the opportunity.
Talent like Demin is unprecedented in the history of BYU hoops. BYU has never had a one-and-done player, and that seems to be the route that Kevin Young is turning the program towards. When Kevin Young said he wanted to make BYU the premier location for developing NBA talent, players like Demin were necessary to show that this was a serious goal.
Landing a player of this level has never happened in the team's history, and Kevin Young's staff did it in their first few months at the helm. Credit has to be given to assistants Chris Burgess and Brandon Dunson, who are proving to be an elite supporting cast in college hoops.
BYU isn’t even sniffing Egor Demin with Mark Pope. The Kevin Young hire was a complete paradigm shift into a new era of elite level BYU recruiting. Kevin’s first 3 wins:
— Terrell Williams (@4Wade2021) May 28, 2024
Egor Demin: 5🌟 projected lottery pick
Elijah Crawford: 4🌟
Brody Kozlowski: 4 🌟
BYU to the moon!! 🚀🌕 pic.twitter.com/qOfWNxNbPm
The future of BYU basketball is very bright--throw on some blue sunglasses.