Egor Demin Could Consider Returning to BYU to Team Up With Top Prospect

The BYU Cougars could get a massive boost to its 2026 squad if projected 2025 NBA Lottery Pick returns to school.

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Egor Demin (3) handles the ball against Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) during the second half during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The March Madness tournament is winding down as we have reached the Elite Eight but there have been no shortage of NBA Draft storylines to follow. As BYU was bounced in the sweet sixteen by Alabama, the Cougars offered up a story that has ripple effects for the 2025 and 2026 NBA Drafts.

Egor Demin is a lottery lock for the 2025 NBA Draft, it seems, and yet following the loss to Alabama, the point guard is thinking about returning to school.

“You know AJ is coming. He could one of the reasons I could come back.” - Demin said following the Cougars loss to the Crimson Tide in the March Madness Tournament.

Demin projects to be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but could still use some seasoning to his game. To play alongside the projected top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft has to be worth pondering as it can make his life easier as a table setting and give him another season to improve his off-ball chops that are right are lackluster.

BYU does have a massive allotment for NIL which can make the ability to turn down the NBA slightly easier. Ultimately, it would be fairly unprecedented to see a potential lottery pick forego the draft, but this is a new era of hoops –– specifically in the college game.

Demin could be willing to gamble on himself that with another season, fully healthy in the same system and with better talent around him he can climb up the 2026 NBA Draft board.

Ultimately, you have to wonder how much the pain and the heat of the moment got to Demin leading to this quote. But never the less, it will be an interesting story to follow.

“You know AJ is coming. He could one of the reasons I could come back.” - Egor Demin pic.twitter.com/WopA9qoLWs

— Church Ball: A BYU Hoops Pod (@churchballpod) March 28, 2025