During a late-night phone call last summer, Travis Hansen boldly declared Egor Demin would be a top-10 lottery pick after his freshman season at BYU. Considering no one around here had seen him play before, except on YouTube highlights, Hansen's proclamation was bold. The Cougars hadn't had a lottery pick since Jimmer Fredette in 2011.
The former BYU star knew of Demin's potential coming from Real Madrid in Spain, where Hansen played professionally (2009-11) and came to know Egor's father, Vladimir.
When the time arrived to find Egor a school in the United States to prepare for the NBA, Hansen made a BYU pitch to his parents (Vladimir and Natalia), and once new BYU coach Kevin Young (former Suns assistant coach) got involved, the choice became an easy one to make.
Moments after the Nets selected Demin with the eighth overall pick in the first round of Wednesday's 2025 NBA draft, the young Russian star threw his arms around his American mentor, and they hugged it out at the Barclays Center — Demin's new home.
"It symbolizes years of sacrifice coming full circle," Hansen said of the embrace. "It was unfiltered emotion, kind of like when the impossible becomes real — which is how Egor described it."
Sitting around Demin's table was his mother, Natalia, girlfriend Delaney Gibb , Rade and Niko Filipovich, his agent and high school coach (a father-son tandem), Young and Hansen. After Demin's media commitments, the greater entourage left the Barclays Center and gathered in a private room at a New York restaurant, where they remained until deep into Wednesday morning.
Former BYU star Egor Demin enjoys a meal with his inner circle following Day 1 of the NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. Demin was selected with the No. 8 pick by the Nets. | Courtesy Travis Hansen
"I wished my kids could have been there and there was a camera crew documenting it," Hansen said. "Everybody shared stories of gratitude. Egor talked about his NBA dreams. He's been a dreamer since he was small."
Indeed, his young but lifelong dream had come true. Not only was Demin in the NBA, but he had just become the highest drafted Russian player in history. His proud father, Vladimir, followed the proceedings from Moscow.
"He must have told me 'Bolshoye spasibo' ('Thank you very much') a hundred times," said Hansen about his post-draft phone call with Vladimir. "It's a dream for all of us. It feels surreal."
The road wasn't easy. Demin picked BYU sight-unseen and adopted the Hansens as his trusted American buffers. He took the Marriott Center floor last fall carrying the weight of tremendous expectations. Things came easy early on against lighter opponents, but when December arrived, Demin banged up his knee, lost his 3-point shot and felt the heat of falling short.
Brigham Young Cougars guard Egor Demin (3) dribbles the ball during the second half of an NCAA Sweet 16 basketball game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Thursday, March 27, 2025. BYU lost 113-88. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Through the ups and downs, Hansen and his wife, LaRee, were at Demin's side. LaRee kept him fed and motivated while Travis moonlighted as a psychologist, psychiatrist, friend, driver's ed instructor and father figure while subbing in for Vladimir, who was following as closely as he could from faraway Moscow.
It helped that Hansen spoke Egor's language — literally and figuratively. Having made it to the NBA himself, drafted by Atlanta in 2003, Hansen could be trusted to know what he was talking about. With the luxury of speaking Russian, he could also reach Demin in his native tongue.
To his credit, Demin kept grinding. And smiling. With tutoring from Young and his staff, the teenager recovered, regrouped and responded to lead the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 appearance since the Jimmer years and their highest season-ending national ranking (No. 13) since Fredette's final shot.
Even so, Demin's decision to leave BYU after his freshman year for the NBA was questioned by many, and the idea of returning to team up with the incoming AJ Dybantsa had obvious allure. However, the 6-foot-9 point guard stuck to his guns — and his dream.
"You just can't teach size, feel and work ethic and (Egor) has all three," Hansen said. "The feedback we constantly got was extremely positive."
Through Demin's performance at the NBA combine and in a flurry of individual team workouts, the Nets saw what Hansen had seen a year ago, six months ago and as recently as last week — he is a top-10 pick after just one year at BYU.
"Brooklyn was one of the top spots we wanted," Hansen said. " Sean Marks (Nets general manager) and I shared the same agent for years and that is an organization that almost hired Kevin Young. Their development team knows how to build long term."
Building for the long term is something Demin and Hansen are pretty good at, too, and they have been at it for years. Now, their international family circle will expand to include the Brooklyn Nets for the foreseeable future.
Egor Demin poses for a picture alongside fellow draftees at the NBA draft Wednesday, June 25, 2025. The former BYU star was selected No. 8 overall the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday, June 25, 2025. | Nate Edwards, BYU Photo
Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts "Y's Guys" at ysguys.com and is the author of the children's book "C is for Cougar," available at deseretbook.com
