Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
PROVO — Cryptic quotes by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche on his social media aside, Egor Demin did what most expected him to do for the past year Tuesday morning by declaring for the 2025 NBA draft.
The 6-foot-9 point guard never verbally expressed his intentions of being a one-and-done college basketball player, but that was always the expectation when he came to Provo as an 18-year-old phenom from Moscow by way of Spain's Real Madrid academy en route to (potentially? hopefully?) launching his NBA career.
Stilll, what Demin found in his one season in Provo was more than even he could have dreamed: a stellar coaching staff, a second family, an adoring roster and fan base, and a deeper understanding of his own faith and relationship with God at the university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Along the way, he averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 41.2% from the field, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention and freshman honors, and leading BYU to its first Sweet 16 appearance since Jimmer Fredette was pulling up from the midcourt logo.
Demin's freshman season was dream-like. Now he's off to fulfill another one.
"This was my dream since the first day I took the ball in my hands," Demin said, adding that he plans to return to BYU to earn his degree either in person or online.
Demin said he leaned on BYU head coach Kevin Young, his assistants, a few teammates, and former BYU star Travis Hansen — who came to know Demin's father during a playing career in Moscow, and took the far-from-home basketball savant into his home like one of his own — and family in making his decision to enter the draft.
Many of his teammates didn't even know his decision until he finished the reveal earlier Tuesday morning on social media, he noted.
He won't officially become ineligible to return to BYU (or anywhere in college basketball) until the early-entry withdrawal deadline of June 15 or he signs with an agent, whichever comes first. But hearing it form Demin's mouth, he's prepared to close one chapter of his basketball career with the hopes of opening a new one.
Demin is currently the No. 12 overall prospect in this year's draft by ESPN.com, and a projected lottery pick by multiple publications. Where ever he ends up, he'll continue to represent BYU, a place that went through him as much as he went through the Provo campus since he arrived last summer prior to forging bonds of friendship and brotherhood that will last a lifetime.
"I will take with me as the best memory the general picture of our team, and how good of the group of people we had; everybody was like a family," Demin said. "I think that is going to be my main memory of BYU."
Where does BYU go post-Demin, into Young's sophomore season as a collegiate head coach? It's not like the Cougars, who finished the season ranked 13th in the final Associated Press Top 25 a day after Florida's win over Houston in the national championship game, will be without talent. Richie Saunders hasn't revealed a decision whether to return or join Demin in the draft, but BYU's leading scorer would be a nice veteran to bring back.
So, too, will top rebounder Keba Keita and No. 1 overall recruit AJ Dybantsa, the 6-10 jumbo wing who reportedly signed a multi-million dollar NIL package to come to BYU for what is expected to be his lone season of college basketball and Washington transfer Dominique Diomande, who averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 26 games in the France-ProA U21 league.
With Demin on his way out and Dallin Hall and Elijah Crawford already in the transfer portal, the Cougars are left with just one point guard — walk-on Jared McGregor — currently on the roster. Of course, that's expected to change.
Young already has a plan.
"One thing that I really tried to do when I took this job was set up an infrastructure that allows us to cover a lot of ground in all parts of our program," the 43-year-old Salt Lake City native who grew up in Georgia said. "We essentially have an NBA front office, so to speak, that's been scouting players since the day we stepped foot in here.
"Our staff is very well-versed. We have a lot of connections all over the country, all over the world as well. We have a good handle on who is out there, and we're relying on the work that we've put in for many months. I don't ever want to make any rash or quick decisions; in today's day and age in college athletics, you can get caught up in the storm that is the portal. We're trying to just be calculated in the moves we make, and we feel like we're on a decent path to do that."
And if Demin finds success in the draft and beyond, that process — to borrow a phrase from a now-infamous rant of Young's — will no longer be hypothetical.
Photos
Show All 10 Photos
