#8 Egor Demin
6'9 | Guard | BYU | 03/03/2006
Cerebro Player Profile: Egor Demin
Big Board Rankings (@ twitter , rank ):
Evaluation by: @Calebmueller23
Denim is by far the most enticing mega-guard prospect in the country due to his pace and fluidity. He has a great feel for contact and can be incredible when he gets downhill. I find his shot to be smooth and eye-grabbing as a long-term number-one option. Denim looks like a demon on tape, but his decision-making and consistency are both areas of improvement. Per Cerebro’s database, Denim made 2.1 threes a game across 69 Spanish Club games on a 29.4% clip. He was a bit better in FIBA, but he still hasn’t had many standout knockdown shooting displays, especially when he takes on high usage. With BYU, it will be interesting to see if he is able to evade some of the early mistakes and opt to kick and dish like a true lead guard. Otherwise, he can still be a fun scorer, with the stability of an at-the-rim arsenal at 6’8 for getting to the basket with ease. He also has done a good job of creating positive contact and converting at the line (74.3%). With fun vision and solid bag handles, Denim also could be a plus playmaker right away. He has some clear developments to make with his patience and reading, but he has gifted instincts, and those are always exciting to bet on. His vision is rare for players his age and size.
His defense leaves some to be desired, he has size and good hands. But he has been relatively average on this end. His foot speed needs to improve broadly, but he is very capable in recovery and has a good IQ. He has flashed the ability to switch and manage bigger matchups due to his size. In order to be a potential top 5 caliber pick, this has to be a huge area of growth.
The Russian 6’8 18-year-old has been a pro since he was 15. He has displayed tremendous potential and growth throughout his development, signing a contract with Real Madrid and cementing himself as one of the best basketball prospects to ever come out of Russia. When he signed with BYU, many of the same sentiments were repeated, ‘the most notable recruit in BYU basketball history’ (Pre-AJ era, hopefully).
https://videopress.com/v/Mt2yNaaf?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&autoPlay=true&loop=true&muted=true&persistVolume=false&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
He has the potential to be one of the bigger breakout stars that more people should have seen coming.
Looking at BYU’s roster, they seem more than prepared as a group to embrace this type of addition. With the departure of Mark Pope and several key players, Denim has the chance to bring in a new era of basketball for the Cougars. Kanon Catchings is also on the roster as a potential breakout star with draft upside. If the pair can get off to a hot start, they both could engage in some big board debauchery early.