On his way: Russian star Egor Demin officially signs with BYU men’s basketball
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- Russian teen Egor Demin, a projected 2025 NBA Lottery pick, has signed a letter of intent to play for Kevin Young and BYU men’s basketball in 2024-25.
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- Russian teen Egor Demin, a projected 2025 NBA Lottery pick, has signed a letter of intent to play for Kevin Young and BYU men’s basketball in 2024-25.
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- Russian teen Egor Demin, a projected 2025 NBA Lottery pick, has signed a letter of intent to play for Kevin Young and BYU men’s basketball in 2024-25.
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- Russian teen Egor Demin, a projected 2025 NBA Lottery pick, has signed a letter of intent to play for Kevin Young and BYU men’s basketball in 2024-25.
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- Russian teen Egor Demin, a projected 2025 NBA Lottery pick, has signed a letter of intent to play for Kevin Young and BYU men’s basketball in 2024-25.
The BYU men’s basketball program has never landed someone quite like Russian teen Egor Demin.
Demin, one of the top young international basketball prospects, has officially signed a letter of intent to play for the Cougars in 2024-25. The 18-year-old Demin made his commitment two weeks ago on social media, setting off a firestorm of activity from BYU fans all over the world.
As a projected NBA lottery pick, Demin’s stay in Provo might be a short one, but it could be spectacular. The 6-foot-9 guard/forward is one of the most talented players BYU has ever signed.
“We are thrilled that Egor and his family are joining us at BYU,” Young said. “He is a special talent with an extremely bright future, and he plays the game the right way. At 6-foot-9, his passing, playmaking and shooting will fit seamlessly into our style of play. Egor has proven himself among the best prospects in Europe in recent years. We look forward to helping him grow and develop on and off the court.”
One of Demin’s mentors is former Cougar standout Travis Hansen, who played professionally in Russia and at one time for the Russian national team.
“His parents both played basketball and they are highly intelligent,” Hansen said during an interview with BYU Sports Nation. “He’s been really well coached playing for the top club in Europe. It’s an incredible system both academic and basketball-wise. Egor is a phenomenal talent. The kid is the real deal. He’s 6-9 and he can play on the ball, he can play off the ball. He can shoot it from deep. He’s wiry strong. What scouts see is the size and the skills but mainly the IQ to completely destroy a defense. No matter what the defense throws at him, he can still get to his spot.”
Hansen said Demin’s young career trajectory has followed the path of current Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
Demin, a native of Moscow, Russia, helped Real Madrid defend its Adidas Next Generation Tournament title, scoring in double figures in all four games played in Berlin, Germany. Demin finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the final against PFBB INSEP Paris, going 6-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
In Berlin, Demin averaged 16.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, including double-doubles against Paris and Mega MIS Belgrade. He shot 48.9 percent from the field and 80.9 percent from the charity stripe while drawing 17 fouls.
He appeared in 21 games for Real Madrid 2 during the 2023-24 Spain EBA season, averaging 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He shot 57.1 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from three and 78.4 percent from the free throw line. He scored in double figures 12 times, including a near triple-double against La Solana, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 92-67 victory.
Demin represented Russia at the FIBA U16 European Challengers, helping his team finish third with a 94-47 victory over Romania. He averaged 12.2 points per game, including scoring in double figures in the final three games and knocking down five 3-pointers in the third-place game.
Demin joins a BYU roster that includes veterans Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, Fousseyni Traore, Trevin Knell, Dawson Baker and Trey Stewart, Townsend Tripple and Jared McGregor, along with newcomers Elijah Crawford, Keba Keita, Brody Kozlowski, Mawot Mag and Max Triplett. The Cougars are in their third week of summer workouts and Demin is expected to join his new teammates soon.
