The Egor Demin effect: Freshman sensation certain to impact BYU this year

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The Egor Demin effect: Freshman sensation certain to impact BYU this year — and for years to come

BYU guard Egor Demin, right, talks with teammate Dawson Baker during warmups for the game with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. The Russian product is projected to be a high lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Dave McCann · Deseret News

Wed, Nov 27, 2024 ·

17 min read

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Passing the test in America. That is what is on the mind of 18-year-old BYU basketball phenom Egor Vladimirovich Demin . Even at a young age, he is very aware of how this exam will impact his mobility to go where he wants — but it has nothing to do with what is going to make him famous.

Demin's 3-point shot and ability to run the floor and pass the ball are all functioning at an elite level. This high-stakes drama, taking place 5,560 miles away from his home in Moscow, Russia, has nothing to do with basketball and everything to with getting a Utah driver's license.

"The process is going. It's almost done," Demin says. "I'm practicing with my teammates — mostly on the parking. They are helping make sure I'm ready."

Demin plans to take his exam after the Cougars return from their biggest tests of the young season Thursday against No. 23 Ole Miss (3:30 p.m. MST, FS1) and Friday against either No. 13 Purdue or NC State at the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego.

"It's going pretty good," Demin says. "I'm also a really cautious driver. I'm not going to be like — crazy. I want to make sure I'm taking care of myself and the one who is sitting next to me."

Sunday dinners

Each Sunday at 5 p.m., Demin arrives at the Mapleton home of Travis and LaRee Hansen, hungry and ready for a family dinner.

"Egor started coming over when he first moved here. It's an opportunity to hang out with us and feed him. He's our adopted son," Travis Hansen says. "After dinner, he cleans up. That's his chore. My wife cooks and we clean up. She doesn't want us in the kitchen."

"I'm not sure I help that much," Demin says laughing. "But I make sure to clean my plate."

Mapleton, Utah, is a long way from Moscow, but his time with the Hansens seems to help reduce the distance.

"This is so important for me as I spent the last three years in Spain with no family around me," Demin says. "Coming here in a new environment and surroundings without anybody and to have a place to come, and be with my second family, it is just a pleasure."

Hansen is a former BYU star who played internationally in Spain and Russia. During those years, he came to know Vladimir Demin, Egor's father and a former Euroleague player. After learning of Egor's desire to leave Real Madrid for the United States to pursue his NBA dreams , Hansen called newly hired BYU coach Kevin Young and Young, with his deep NBA roots, a ttracted Demin to Provo .

"He's been a good influence on my kids," Hansen explains. "Last Sunday, we talked a ton about Russia and how we miss it. We have fond memories there. Egor misses all of that too."

Finding a home away from home is a game-changer for Demin — and for the Hansens.

"I had a miscarriage when we lived in Russia (18 years ago), so I think of him as my little Russian son who would be about the same age as him," LaRee Hansen says. "It's just very comfortable and I feel he blends into our family. He has a high social IQ. He looks people in the eyes and is very thoughtful. You can tell he has a good heart."

Ex-BYU star Travis Hansen (6) plays for Moscow Dynamo, a Euroleague team in Russia during his professional playing days. — Ex-BYU star Travis Hansen drives the ball during his playing days for Moscow Dynamo, a Euroleague team in Russia. | Courtesy of Dynamo

And, in addition to being on the clean-up crew, Demin, who is fluent in three languages (Russian, Spanish and English) and is a growing fan of LaRee's meat and potatoes, finds his own native ways to contribute to the menu.

"He brought some caviar from Russia," Travis says. "He travelled 58 hours there and back while carrying frozen caviar to bring back for us."

Demin also knows how to give the room a good laugh.

"He is taking a mission prep class for his required religion course at BYU, so he joked at dinner the other night, 'I've got to decide between going on a mission or going to the NBA,'" Hansen recounted. Demin is Orthodox Catholic. "His mission will be in the NBA where he will be a good influence there and represent his family."

From Russia with love

The Cougar Club doesn't have an official chapter in Moscow, but there is a growing love for what Demin is doing at BYU. Vladimir and Natalia Demin make sure their son's followers stay up to speed on what's going on at the Marriott Center a world away in Provo.

"His mom and dad stay up and watch every game," says Hansen, who exchanges a flurry of text messages with Vladimir throughout each contest. "They are the nicest, kindest parents who are invested in their son's success. They are so grateful for BYU and for everyone showing him so much love. They can't sleep. They are so excited for his success."

Vladimir even moonlights as a would-be broadcaster, sending the game feed to Egor's fans, including his own commentary and analysis on what they are watching — and Egor is giving them plenty to cheer about.

Through his first five games in America, Demin is averaging 15.2 points, four rebounds and 7.1 assists. He is shooting 56% from the 3-point line (13 of 23) and has twice been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.

For a young man who Forbes Magazine included among its 2024 "Top 30 Under 30″ list of young Russian influencers, Demin, even at 18, is wasting no time being a difference maker at home and abroad.

The next Cosic?

Mention Kresimir Cosic's name to any long-time BYU fan or basketball enthusiast in Europe and they know who you are talking about, including Vladimir and Natalia.

"Everyone in Europe knows of the Kresimir legend. He is known for being an incredible player and also an incredible human being," Hansen says. "The impact he made on his country (Croatia, the former Yugoslavia) was so impressive and I think we'll see the same things from Egor. Egor is not just a phenomenal talent and basketball player, but he is also phenomenal person."

Kresimir Cosic helped BYU basketball to soar to new heights in the early '70s. — Kresimir Cosic helped BYU basketball to soar to new heights in the early 1970s. | Deseret Morning News archives

Cosic landed in Utah in 1970 as a self-proclaimed atheist with a cigarette in his mouth. His knowledge of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was as limited as his understanding of BYU's Honor Code. In time, all of that changed and Cosic evolved into the most influential Latter-day Saint in the history of Eastern Europe.

NCAA rules once prevented freshmen from playing during their first year. Cosic, with his 6-foot-11 frame, christened the Marriott Center in 1971 and proceeded to perform in such an unprecedented way that a second act seemed impossible — until 6-9 Demin showed up in August, more than five decades later.

"Anyone who didn't get to watch Kresimir play, (Egor) is the closest thing to him," Hansen says. "The awareness, the passing, the shooting ability, the rebounding, the defense, the court awareness — it's the closest thing (to Cosic) we have seen or may ever see. If you never had the chance to watch Kresimir, come watch Egor play."

Jay Adamson has been watching BYU basketball since 1953, long enough to appreciate both Cosic and Demin.

"Kresimir was probably one of the smartest and smoothest players I've ever watched play basketball. He was impossible to stop," Adamson says. "Egor is a little quicker than Kresimir was, but the smoothness and athleticism — you watch them both and you think these guys glide through their movements. As I watched Egor drive to the basket the other night and dunk with his left hand, I thought, 'Boy, that looks familiar to me.'"

Cosic grew into a star over his three years at BYU and went on to win a gold medal for his home country in the 1980 Olympics and earn a place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Demin isn't going to be around Provo as long as Cosic was, but he could be just as impactful.

"The significance that Kresimir had for BYU and the church on a global scale — I think God had a plan for him," says former Cougar Jonathan Tavernari. "What if God has a plan for Egor, because of his success at BYU and with Kevin Young that opens the door for BYU to welcome the top players in the (world) year after year? The impact Kresimir had can be equaled in what Egor can have, but in a different way."

Built differently

Like many foreign athletes playing college basketball, Demin benefits from a deeply focused upbringing, including three years at academic and basketball driven Real Madrid in Spain.

"My experience has been that the European clubs, especially the top clubs like Real Madrid, do the best job in the world at preparing young talents to be professionals," says Hansen, who played for Real Madrid's A-squad (2009-10). "He also has Russian DNA, which I came to understand when I was over there — they are courageous and brave. They are fighters. They want to do good, despite the political things going on that they may or may not agree with. It's in their DNA to be fighters. Egor loves to compete."

1123bkccougars.spt_ja_2322.jpg — BYU guard Egor Demin drives against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Demin is the first next-level European to play at BYU since Timo Saarelainen in 1980. The 6-foot-6 Helsinki, Finland, product arrived in Provo as a 20-year-old freshman, but he was already schooled by years of high-level competition, including Finland's national basketball team.

"Euro-ball was more physical than the game here, but the speed (in the U.S.) was on another level, so that was an adjustment," says Saarelainen, who was named WAC Player of the Year in 1985. "In Europe, we worked much more on shooting, boxing out, foot work, ball handling, spacing and passing, etc. Here, we worked on conditioning, weights, speed, timing, and complex offenses and defenses."

Like Saarelainen, Demin's attention to detail at Real Madrid prepared him to show up at BYU as the new kid on the block, but with the wits of someone who has been in the neighborhood for a while.

"When you are playing in Europe at the level he was playing, you are practicing with grown men and arguably with the best team outside of the NBA," said Tavernari. "He was being pushed. That makes him more experienced than any other high school kid could ever possibly be. It shows in his game with how poised he is, how patient he is and his ability to not get sped up on the floor."

Tavernari, from Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, followed up his successful BYU career (2006-10) with nine seasons of international competition, including Europe.

"When you consider where he comes from, he was being groomed to be an elite Euro-league player," Tavernari said. "The numbers he put down last year (13 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists) are not rotation-guys-in-Europe-numbers. These are numbers of someone being primed to be the face of Real Madrid in the coming years. For him to push pause on all that and come to America and to BYU — is amazing."

New surroundings

Demin is one of nearly 35,000 students on the BYU campus. With his size, he stands out on the court and in the classroom.

"Just being here for a couple of months, I already realize how much I have grown and how much I am still growing as a person, not just as a player," Demin says. "Obviously, I want to soak up as much as I can from our coaching staff and be a sponge in practices, in the games, and off the court when we are watching film or having dinner. I just want to take in everything that I can."

The Big 12 Conference is widely considered the toughest collegiate basketball league in the United States. The slate of BYU opponents includes No. 1 Kansas, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 6 Houston, No. 16 Cincinnati and No. 24 Arizona. The teams are tough, and the road environments are hostile, but Demin has seen challenges much greater.

"It won't affect him at all. He was raised playing in Europe. Those are countries going against countries. The pressure and the excitement and the fight representing your country versus another country is a whole other level than a university against a university," Hansen says. "We rolled into Israel with a police escort because we were from Spain. It's intense, man. It's a whole different environment and level than anywhere in the Big 12."

NBA ready?

In just a few weeks, Demin has become the talk of college basketball with the support video to back it up. More than 70 NBA scouts and 10 general managers or team presidents have already been to a practice or game at BYU to watch him play.

"His special sauce is his feel for the game," says first-year BYU coach Kevin Young, who spent the last eight years coaching in the NBA. "You can't teach that. We are just trying not to not (mess) it up and put him in a position to succeed."

If Demin checked himself into an NBA game tonight, he would fit right in, according to former BYU and Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland.

"Yes, he would, because he can make everyone around him better," Cleveland says. "He could step right in and do the same things that he is doing (at BYU). He has those qualities. He has a deep awareness of everything this is going on. He is one of the most selfless players I have ever been around. I think Egor could fit in anywhere, collegiately, internationally or in the NBA."

1123bkccougars.spt_ja_1489.jpg — BYU guard Egor Demin huddles with teammates prior to the game with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

While at Fresno State, Cleveland prepared Sixers star Paul George for an early entry into the NBA. Demin is projected to be a top-five selection in next summer's draft — and maybe higher.

"I think he is going to make a run for the overall pick," Hansen says. "Show me an NBA team that couldn't use a 6-9 point guard. He is an offense in himself. He is built differently. This kid's DNA is to be a pro."

Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette was college basketball's national player of the year in 2011, and a lottery pick by the Milwaukee Bucks as the 10th overall selection in the 2011 NBA draft.

"Egor is an ideal point wing in today's NBA. He has height and long arms, which always translates well," Fredette says. "But his natural passing ability and command of the floor at his age is special. He has a fluid shot and will continue to get better at it with his work ethic. He is what a lottery pick looks like in today's modern NBA."

Lasting impact

Demin isn't expected to play more than one season at BYU, but his footprint on the program is likely to remain for years to come.

"Egor doesn't even need to be a lottery pick, which it looks like he will be, but if he comes and is drafted in the first round, and Kanon (Catchings) is drafted in the first or second round," says Tavernari, "Kevin Young will have done what hasn't been done in the modern basketball era at BYU. And if he does it again next year with Xavion Staton (7-foot signee) and AJ Dybantsa (6-9, No. 1 prospect), you start looking at BYU with different eyes than you do right now."

Cleveland signed Rafael Araujo (Curitiba, Brazil), Luis Lemes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Tavernari to play at BYU during his head coaching run (1997-2005). Each player had foreign roots but played junior college or high school basketball in the United States.

"I don't know if there is a better recruiting tool than to have a foreign player here that has a great experience and is willing to share it with others and who goes on to the NBA," Cleveland said. "The game is the same. That doesn't change, but getting people who are that prepared really gives you a jumpstart. Having Egor here was a serious jumpstart for this program."

Saarelainen sees Demin's long-term impact on BYU being generated by what he is doing now, as opposed to where he could go in the future.

"Winning will always make recruiting easier, both here and overseas. Today's recruiting is far more sophisticated than back then, and the competition is tight," Saarelainen says. "Any solid young basketball talent worldwide will not fly under the radar, like many of us did in the '80s. So, Egor going to the lottery will not necessarily help BYU in recruiting. Rankings, wins and deep tournament runs will, which Egor will likely help produce."

Still a kid

With his disarming smile and happy countenance as indicators, it's not hard to see that Demin is having the time of his life.

"I want to have fun," he says. "People have been telling me, 'You can be scared, you can be nervous, but don't forget about having fun — and don't forget to be a kid.'"

The challenge of NBA stardom and the mobile lifestyle that comes with it is months away — and that's right where Demin wants to keep it. For now, he is a freshman who is riding roller-coasters, trick-or-treating, visiting pumpkin patches, eating Creamery ice-cream, dating and learning to drive.

"I remind him, 'After you have a massive game, go to class, walk around campus and talk to people. They will want to say hi to you, not because they see a dollar sign, but because you are Egor, and you are going to school with them. You can make friends and connections in a way that probably won't ever happen again,'" Tavernari says. "You can see him maturing. You can see in his eyes he is absorbing information. It is a huge skill he has. I'm glad he's taking the time to be a kid."

Time doesn't stand still for anyone, especially for Demin, whose days in Provo are racing by as fast as the shot clock.

"The next step is probably when I need to be as responsible as I can. I need to be responsible here too, but it's a fun time being in college. It's something new and it's never going to happen again, probably," Demin said. "I'm trying to take as much as I can from this experience."

Now, if he can just pass that driver's test, Demin will have it made.

1123bkccougars.spt_ja_1086.jpg — BYU guard Egor Demin runs up court after hitting a basket against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

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 .

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