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PROVO — Give Egor Demin credit for one thing, at least: He didn't let the unanswered question remain unanswered for long.
The 6-foot-9 freshman guard from Moscow, Russia, made his future plans known Tuesday morning.
In news initially leaked two hours early by ESPN.com, Demin opted to initiate his NBA future in place of an encore season with BYU basketball, confirming the decision with one final sendoff and thank you to the Cougars' fan base via a press conference on BYUtv.
The former five-star guard came to BYU as a projected lottery pick, and after averaging 10.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds on 41.2% shooting en route to All-Big 12 freshman team honors and the Cougars' first Sweet 16 appearance since Jimmer Fredette was in school.
ESPN, which first reported Demin's decision to leave BYU after one season, currently ranks the 19-year-old Demin as the No. 12 prospect in this year's draft. Bleacher Report projects him as the No. 14 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks.
The veteran of Spain's acclaimed Real Madrid academy came to Provo as a projected lottery pick, and leaves as such, at least for the moment as he prepares for NBA workouts and the annual pre-draft carousel.
The Cougars, meanwhile, won't be hurting for talent as he departs, a list that includes top rebounder Keba Keita and potentially Richie Saunders, the Cougars' leading scorer last year who still has one season of eligibility remaining.
They'll be joined by No. 1 overall recruit AJ Dybantsa, the 6-foot-10 jumbo wing from Massachusetts by way of Hurricane's Utah Prep who reportedly signed a multi-million dollar NIL package to come to BYU for what will likely be his one-and-done season of college basketball.
The Cougars also signed Xavion Staton, the No. 35-rated recruit in the country by ESPN and 6-foot-11 rim runner who played with Dybantsa at Utah Prep for the second half of the Las Vegas product's senior season.
BYU also received a commitment from Washington transfer Dominique Diomande, the 6-foot-8 wing forward who averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 26 games in the France-ProA U21 league before spending half a season in Seattle and redshirting prior to transferring out.
With Demin already projected to depart and Dallin Hall entering the transfer portal, ESPN rated the Cougars No. 16 in the outlet's way-too-early top 25 after Monday night's NCAA title game between Florida and Houston.
Saunders makes a case for a strong sophomore season for head coach Kevin Young, as well as Dybantsa, Staton and returning wing Dawson Baker who averaged 7.5 points per game and should see an expanded role as a fifth-year senior following the departures of Hall and Trevin Knell.
Demin came to BYU as a projected lottery pick, signing with the Cougars thanks to a lucrative NIL package and Young's ability to develop NBA talent through nearly 10 years in the league.
But he also found a few things he didn't expect, including a family to host him in former BYU star Travis Hansen, who played professionally for two clubs in Moscow as well as Real Madrid; and a fan base that grew to love the charming content creator who is fluent in three languages.
"I'm living my best life being a BYU student and a BYU player," he told KSL.com at the start of the NCAA Tournament in Denver. "This is just so great, to be here next to (my teammates) and around them; I feel like it's home. It's a big family.
"I would say, really: thank you."
