Egor Demin shines in BYU scrimmage debut, but how he's fitting in off court might be as impressive

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

PROVO — In a globetrotting career in his native Russia or Spain with his Real Madrid teammates, Egor Demin has probably played in some bigger environments, likely louder, and probably pretty frenzied in the basketball-loving cities of Europe.

But there is something about BYU, about the Roar of Cougars student section, and about the city of Provo, he adds.

So if he kept looking at the crowd on a night when he scored 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists during the Cougars' annual blue-white scrimmage (split into two separate halves of very different lineups) close to four months after signing with BYU, he was likely reminding himself of how the presumptive 2025 NBA draft lottery prospect ended up in the mountains of the Wasatch Front.

"To be honest, it's not even close to the places where I've played," Demin said candidly after wowing BYU fans that filled the lower bowl (and then a little more) of the 17,978-seat Marriott Center for a free, open-to-the-public preview of the 2024-25 roster. "I've been in many different gyms that were so loud with many people, but it's a different energy and different atmosphere here. It's just fun to be here. I can say for everybody that we really enjoyed just being at this gym today."

In his basketball-focused career, the 6-foot-9 freshman from Moscow, Russia, appeared in 21 games for Real Madrid 2 during the 2023-24 Spanish EBA season, averaging 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

He averaged 16.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game while leading Madrid to a second consecutive Adidas Next Generation Tournament title earlier this year.

But he's also never had the chance to be a college student, to prepare for exams and midterms while also focusing on basketball — his ultimate major, whatever happens with his academic career — prior to a professional career.

So every chance he gets to soak up BYU, to enjoy Provo, to experience what his first living experience in the United States can provide while he's here? Yeah, he's going to take it.

"People ask me about this, and think I'm lying sometimes because I'm emotional about it," he said. "But it's true. I'm really enjoying living here with all of my heart. Not only talking about the court and being with the team in the gym, but also outside.

"I can't complain about anything."

A week after jumping into the student section and partying with the ROC at the Marriott Madness fan event, Demin put on another show against several of his own teammates.

He smoothly weaved through traffic en route to 9 points and five assists in 16 minutes of a first half when his Blue team topped White 49-39.

Then he switched jersey colors and still managed 3 points, four assists and four rebounds in 12 minutes as White held back Blue 32-20 in the second half.

His play on the court is obvious, but what isn't obvious is how he's fit into this revamped Cougars squad away from the Marriott Center Annex, too.

"He loves Provo. He's told me many times, 'I love this place,'" BYU coach Kevin Young said. "The community has been awesome to him. I saw him at Madness, with the crowd, and thought it was really cool. I sent it to his family, and they thought it was awesome to see how he's just kind of taking it all in and having fun with it."

As far as similar attributes of Demin, a 6-foot-9 guard who projects as both a playmaker and a scorer at the next level, and his unique game, Young caught himself before admitted how he candidly feels.

He's not LeBron James, and the first-year BYU coach who was the NBA's highest-paid assistant with the Phoenix Suns wanted to make that clear. He's not comparing the 39-year-old legend worth $1.2 billion to a current college freshman.

But …

"He makes a lot of similar passes that LeBron makes, in terms of his size," he said. "I'm not saying he's LeBron — don't misquote me on that — but his ability to see the low man, to see the roller, to read the defense and to quarterback the gym at his size. … His passing is special."

His teammates have high praise, too. Asked last week what Demin does best, BYU wing Trevin Knell answered promptly: every single thing.

"He can really pass it, he can really shoot it, get to the hole," he added. "His level of leadership is picking up a ton, too. And he sees the floor in a whole different way than a lot of us."

High praise, indeed.

"That means a lot for me. I'm spending so much time with this guy in workouts and outside," Demin said of Knell. "So that means more than a lot of people. I love that guy, I love to play with him, and spend time with him. Same with all of these guys around me."

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Sean Walker

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KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter