International NBA Prospect Egor Demin Commits to BYU Basketball

Casey Lundquist | May 28, 2024

Apr 25, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns assistant coach Kevin Young against the Los Angeles Clippers during game five of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in as many months, the BYU basketball program has been the benefactor of a "Woj Bomb". On Tuesday, Wojnarwoski reported that international star Egor Demin committed to Kevin Young and the BYU basketball program. Demin, who currently plays for Real Madrid in Europe, is one of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft. In ESPN's most recent mock draft, he was projected to go ninth overall.

ESPN Sources with @Draftexpress: Real Madrid’s Egor Demin — a projected 2025 NBA Draft lottery pick — has committed to BYU and coach Kevin Young for the 2024-‘25 season. Demin’s a highly skilled 6-9 Russian guard who’ll arrive as one of most talented recruits in program history. pic.twitter.com/EJcNAyqN9N

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 28, 2024

Getting Demin on board is one of the biggest recruiting wins in BYU basketball history. You could argue that it's the best recruiting win ever, or the second best win ever behind only the signing of Shawn Bradley back in the 1980's. Demin, however, is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which makes the signing by Kevin Young and staff especially impressive.

Since Demin is not a traditional recruiting prospect, he hasn't received a star rating from evaluators yet. Since star ratings are based on pro potential, however, it's likely that Demin will be a five-star recruit once he is evaluated.

Demin will likely be a one-and-done at BYU, something that BYU fans are not accustomed to. He has the potential to be the first first-round NBA draft pick out of BYU since Jimmer Fredette.

Demin has elite size as a guard at 6'8. His size, mixed with his well-rounded game on offense, are what make him one of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft. He is comfortable handling the ball, he can distribute and create offense, and he can knock down threes. He will make an instant impact at BYU.

Getting Demin on board is another feather in the cap of new BYU coach Kevin Young. Since his hiring at BYU, Young has had a lot of recruiting success. In his introductory press conference, Kevin Young said he hopes to create an NBA pipeline at BYU. The first step to creating an NBA pipeline is elite recruiting. It's still early, but Kevin Young is recruiting at a level to create a pipeline from BYU to the NBA.