BYU coach Kevin Young thinks so.

Highly touted freshman Egor Demin has been handling the point for most of the Cougars’ preseason and has been very, very good: A team-leading 36 assists (7.2 per game) against just 11 turnovers. Demin also leads BYU with 15.2 points per game to go along with 12 steals.

Last year’s starting point guard, Dallin Hall, sat out the first four games this season due to a foot injury, but played for the first time in Saturday’s 87-43 victory against Mississippi Valley State.

“First of all, I’ve got to give credit to Jordan Brady, our director of player development, Michael Davey, our strength coach and Rob Ramos, our trainer,” Young said. “They did a really good job laying out his (Hall’s) plan to come back. And he knocked off a lot of the rust, I thought, in practice, in the way the schedule that they put out there for him. So I thought he was good. You know, he’s a calming presence with him and Egor out there together. I just feel good that something good is going to happen. We’re going to get quality possessions. And then on the flip side, being able to have one of them on the court, at least trying to, at all times, is a good feeling.”

Abby Shelton/BYU Photo

In just over 21 minutes against Mississippi Valley State, Hall scored 10 points (3 of 7 from the 3-point line), grabbed four rebounds and dished out five assists. Demin finished with eight points, six rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes.

“I’ve been watching these guys work their tails off for the last month and a half and just help them where I could,” Hall said. “Now it’s exciting to be out there on the floor with them. We’ve obviously got NBA talent on the roster and so it’s just fun to be playing with my brothers.”

Hall said he and Demin have a connection in the way they play the game.

“It’s really cool to finally play with someone who kind of sees the game similarly,” Hall said. “So we have some great conversations. Egor is super unselfish, and he just has all the tools in his belt. I’ve never have played with someone like Egor and it’s super fun. We’re excited to see how we can keep going as a team and work this dynamic to his fullest.”

Hall and Demin on the floor seemed to facilitate sharing the ball, with the Cougars assisting on 21 of the 31 baskets it scored on Saturday.

“I feel like it’s one of our main strengths, that we just love to share the ball,” Demin said. “We can see five players scoring double digits. It’s just our style of the game, sharing the ball, not being selfish, and being confident in each other, in the one who’s next to you.”

SCOUTING REPORT

BYU opens the Rady Children’s Invitational at San Diego’s LionTree Arena with No. 23 Ole Miss on Thursday. The Cougars are just outside the Top 25 at No. 26.

The Rebels are led by Virginia Tech transfer Sean Pedulla, a 6-foot-1 guard averaging 14.4 points, 3.2 assists and three steals per game this season. Three returners from last year bolster Chris Beard’s group: 5-11 senior guard Jaylen Murray (12.2 points, four assists per game), 6-4 senior guard Matthew Murrell (12 points per game) and 6-8 senior forward Jaemyn Brakefield (11.2 points, six rebounds per game).

Ole Miss has victories against Long Island (90-60), Grambling State (66-64), South Alabama (65-64), Colorado State (84-69) and Oral Roberts (100-68). The Cougars have wins against Central Arkansas (88-50), UC-Riverside (86-80), Queens (99-55), Idaho (95-71) and Mississippi Valley State (87-43), with a win margin (31 points per game) ninth in the country.

The competition ramps up considerably on Thursday.

“(The focus) is just our defensive discipline and attention to detail,” Young said. “Obviously, it’s going be a lot harder to stop some of the power conference teams. We’re looking forward to the challenge. I know I am greatly looking forward to that. So I think just defensively, just being able to lock in on the game plans, that’s kind of our focus. heading into San Diego.”

The only previous meeting between the two teams is a painful memory for BYU fans: The Cougars led by 17 points at halftime of an NCAA First Four game in Dayton in 2015 but lost 94-90 despite 33 points from Tyler Haws.

BYU’s opponent on Friday will be either No. 13 Purdue or North Carolina State.

Men’s College Basketball

Rady Children’s Invitational

BYU (5-0) vs. No. 23 Ole Miss (5-0)

Thursday, 3:30 p.m. MT

LionTree Arena, San Diego

TV/Streaming: FS1

Radio: BYU Radio

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU has scored 85+ points in each of its first five games for the first time since doing so to open the 2014-15 season. … The Cougars lead the nation in assists per game with an average of 22.6 through five games. … BYU’s second game in San Diego will be against either No. 13 Purdue or North Carolina State on Friday.