Egor Demin drafted at #8 overall to the Nets | Highest BYU draftee since 2004

Egor Demin drafted at #8 overall to the Nets | Highest BYU draftee since 2004

of the Tim Daley Auto Group. Serving Utah since 1968. The year is 2025. It has been 14 years since BYU put an NBA draft pick into the league. And Egor demon is that man. Now BYU basketball sends the number eight overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of last night’s NBA draft. So Jarom the first of many questions we will ask and attempt to answer today. When you heard Yeager’s name called over the podium, what was your reaction at number eight to the Brooklyn Nets? >> First off, Travis Hanson texted you and I Brooklyn. And I was like, oh, here it comes. Let’s go. Very surprised that he went as high as he did, which is good for his wallet. Number eight excited for him. He becomes the third tied for the third highest pick in BYU history, highest Russian ever drafted in the NBA. That’s a big deal deal for him a lottery pick like we were hoping. And he goes to the nets. We’ll break down the fit with the nets in a second. But congrats to Egor. He goes he goes eighth eighth. This is fantastic. And they reached and got him. And here he is which is exciting for Egor and BYU Sports Nation. Of course. >> I was watching the draft with my family and when the Pelicans were on the board at number seven, I said to her, the next pick really is the first man possibility that Egor could go. Then obviously the text comes and. >> You’re like, wow. >> The pick is happening at number eight. We thought that that was probably the highest end of the spectrum like that. When we discussed this, we saw all the projections, at least in my mind. I thought, okay, number eight is. Like super early. >> It felt like a little reach to me. If you had told me that before. >> It’s the earliest he could possibly go. But going back to the combine, we knew that the nets were very, very, very interested with their five first round picks. >> I just thought it’d be the second or third pick. >> At number 19. >> Not eight. >> Clearly Egor was not going to get to number 19. I mean, I said number 12. You thought number 13, we did not feel that he was going to slip that much. Brooklyn clearly thought if we don’t take him now, we are not going to get him. We really like him. Yeah. This is just. >> That’s a cool moment, by the way. Yes. >> Such a validating moment. >> Travis Hanson, Kevin Young, Adam Silver, whose doppelganger is Henry Eyring. Every year I’m like, oh, wait, is he? We’re not sustaining people right now. We’re doing the drafts. Cool. Good for Egor, which is great. And number eight, man, higher than we thought, which is awesome. >> Two picks higher than the great Jimmer Fredette wild. I mean, he trails only Shawn Bradley in the highest draft picks in BYU history. He’s tied with Rafa Araujo. >> Yeah, how dare you disparage Mel Hutchins, who also went two and 51. But the modern era of BYU basketball, this is big time that he goes that high. So we now move to the following. He spoke about being drafted by Egor. And then we’ll talk about fit in just a moment. Here’s what Egor had to say about it. >> Obviously for me, it’s a great opportunity to be in a team where I will be able to develop myself and also impact the game in the ways I can, right, and just learn a lot from the guys who’s already in the team, from the coaching staff, from the front office. And that’s a historical club, historical organization. Right. And obviously it’s a lot related to Russia and past. A lot of Russian players were going through this organization, and for me, it’s an honor to be a part of that. >> There you go. Nets general manager Sean Marks was asked about what they saw in Egor quote. I think first and foremost was the IQ. We looked at how he played the game, how he moved the ball, and his teammates saw 1 or 2 plays ahead. Obviously, the size for his position is great when you have A68 combo guard point guard, but he can move and play off the ball too. We enjoyed watching him at BYU. Then he had multiple. We had multiple opportunities to see him in Brooklyn get to meet him. I think his defense is great how he guards pick and rolls. He has great length. There are a lot of attributes there, unquote. Do you like the fit for Egor with the nets? >> I was hoping that Yeager would have a little bit more of an opportunity to develop and then hop right into the NBA Gantlet but taking him at number eight, it certainly doesn’t feel like they don’t want him to play right away. >> Sure. So is that a good thing? I know we’ve talked about Zach Wilson and Jimmer maybe pressed into need a little sooner than maybe we wanted. >> Egor had to adapt to the physicality of the big 12 conference. Likewise, there will be an adaptation period for him to the NBA game. Sure. I don’t think. >> No matter what pick he’d be, no matter what team. >> Yeah, there will be yeah an adaptation period. But are you expected to start or play starter minutes or be one of the first guys off the bench compared to hey, we’re going to play you 12 to 14 minutes a game and then we’ll accelerate that to like maybe 16 minutes a game and you ease him in. Brooklyn could still do that if they want to. I just don’t think they will. >> They have D’Angelo Russell. He’s your starter under contract going into the season. Although he has been mentioned in different trade opportunities. So we’ll see. >> And I know that the nets drafted three point guards in the first round. >> Let’s talk about that. >> Which is kind of a head scratcher. But I’ll say this going back to Sean Marks comments, and I quote again, the size for his position is great when you have A68 combo guard slash point guard, he can play off the ball just like he did at times with Dallin Hall on the floor. Egor learned how to do different things and be effective off the ball. >> I know we’re talking about I just see him more as a point guard, like he’s just it might be way better with the ball in his hands. >> But he’s more versatile that way. Like he he could do things as a second point guard on the floor for the nets, and I’m sure that that is going to be part of his game at times. >> Point guard on the floor, depending on how they play. >> We don’t know. So that was a little bit of a head scratcher. >> Yeah. >> After they drafted I believe it was Ben. Is it Saraf. Yeah. >> And Nolan Trevor by the way. So he Egor played against Nolan Traore in the Adidas Next Generation tournament a year ago. >> Fun connection. >> He knows him. Yeah. >> I wasn’t so much concerned about the Traore pick, but again, it was Saraf because now it’s like, oh, you’ve taken three. >> Point guard point. >> Guard in the first round. But clearly Egor was the favorite of the bunch. >> Yeah, it let’s compare this to quarterbacks. If a team took three quarterbacks. >> The Cleveland Browns right. >> That’s a little weird to me. Brooklyn was frankly if you watch the show it was one of the teams I said, hey, I would prefer if you didn’t go to Brooklyn. And then they drafted three point guards. I’m a little weirded out by some of the situation there, but we obviously root for Egor and want the best for him. I just wonder one at eight, he’s going to be pressed into service of like we draft you top ten. We need you to do something now. We need you to produce. So there is pressure to do that. Granted, he’s been waiting his whole life for this opportunity and he’s worked hard to merit this opportunity. So they’re New York fans. >> Jarom. >> Yes they are, yes they are. Once they got out of new Jersey, they were 28th in offensive efficiency last year. They were terrible. So they do have some young guys that are interesting. Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson need facilitators. They kind of got hurt. This could be a team that struggles next year again. And maybe they’re high up in the lottery and maybe they get an AJ Dybantsa. Who knows. I don’t want them to struggle mightily like we Egor Demin. We want him to have a great year. And then if the team kind of gets better and whatnot, that’s great. Are there other places I would have preferred him to go over Brooklyn? Absolutely. But he’s going to have to compete with the two other point guards there. D’Angelo Russell is the guy, right? But you have some young pieces that are interesting. I think the upside for the nets is not as high as some of the other teams that maybe we would have preferred for him to go, but let’s get after it and see what happens. Man, I know he’s excited. There’s a big contingent of Russians who live in Brooklyn. I think that’s going to be cool for him. I think they’ll show up at the arena. It was fun when he said, hey, this is my house, this is my house. Now I’m. Already here, which is great. And so all of a sudden, we get interested in nets games as BYU fans do. We have to get League Pass now so we can watch more? Egor Demin is that what’s going to happen? >> Yeah, we should probably talk to the higher ups about. >> Split a league. >> Pass supporting that cause. >> Yes, now we. >> Need that. I thought it was interesting that NBA’s top analysts involved in the draft coverage, Jonathan Givony and others, they were quick to point out that Egor, because of his six nine frame, it makes him a type of an anomaly. But you talked about Brooklyn having a hard time getting their shot makers open shots. They clearly believe Egor is a person that can do this for their shot makers, because he’s so tall and has such great vision, he’s going to open up those guys to get in better positions. Yes. >> There’s bam bam here and they have the cam cams. >> So that was number one. And they also had a clear desperation almost for defensive length on the perimeter. Egor brings that as well. >> Yeah. And he’s versatile and he brings a lot to the table. It was interesting that they used all five picks. So and most of these guys need the ball in their hands. By the way Danny Wolf who we saw in person in Denver playing for Michigan in the NCAA tournament. He’s like a seven foot point center. He can really distribute. He grew up as a point guard and then sprouted. So he is a tall playmaker as well. They got playmakers, but they prioritized Egor. So clearly he’s the favorite of the bunch, if you will, and it’ll be interesting to see how he’s used on the nets now. >> Congratulations to Egor. >> So excited for him. Yeah. >> Amazing night. >> Shout out to his green room like homies. Sister Gib was there. You had you had Kevin Young. Travis had his mom. You had Travis Hanson. You had some others. So that was awesome. >> It was a fantastic celebratory moment. >> Yeah. What did you make of the fit, by the way? The suit looked amazing to me. I liked it. >> I think he took a lot of harsh critique at times in some of the commentary on social media. >> We’ll ask him about the choice. I thought it was good. Can we also. Yeah, good. Good video here. Can we also normalize hats with suits? More hats with suits? >> No, I’m gonna I’m gonna I’m gonna stop you right there. Nope. >> Hats with suits. No hats with suits. >> This. Now, if I guess it depends on the type of head. If you want to go back to the 1920s and 30s. Okay. The top hat, like. Yeah, like a like a jet top. Yes. Okay. Maybe that we could bring a little bit of. >> That’s terrible. >> Like the bibs that Kevin Young’s introductory press conference in April of 2024. My goodness, what a 14 months it’s been. >> It feels like a long. >> 14 months. >> Ago yesterday. >> You heard it earlier. We’re going to take you back to it. He spoke on his vision for BYU basketball, specifically in regards to preparing players for the NBA. >> This this is this is amazing place has been for a long time. What I want to do to take it to the next level is make this place the best place in college basketball to prepare young men to play in the NBA. And I think with my background, I think we’re going to be able to get that done. And I really look forward to doing that. >> Is he the only person that could have made this happen, by the way, the BYU could have hired that would have done this? Yes. Clearly, I think he’s the only one. What we have seen has been unbelievable. He has transformed BYU in a very short time. Him, him only the perfect hire. There are good hires, there are better hires and there are best hires. The best hire BYU could have made is Kevin Young, I would argue. I mean, maybe you say Lavelle is the greatest hire BYU has ever been, but what Kevin Young has done already and the trajectory BYU on this is unbelievable. And now we’re seeing the first of what we hope is many lottery picks for BYU. >> Shout out to President Reece and athletic director Brian Santiago, because those two, along with a contingent of other important folks, made that happen. >> Absolutely. >> And they kept Kevin Young at BYU after one year. >> And to lean into what that requires, that is important. Yeah. >> So Coach Young delivers on what he said he would do in April of 2020. >> It was ambitious, man. When I heard that, I thought, hey, that’s exciting. Wow, we’ve never done here we are. He did it. >> Follow up question there is how does Egor Damon going number eight overall impact the future of BYU basketball and the possibilities. >> What’s wild is AJ Dybantsa signed here without this having happened already? He didn’t he didn’t need to see it. He believed in Kevin Young. And when you meet Kevin and talk to him, you believe he makes you a believer. He’s genuine. He’s sincere. We’ve heard that. He’s straightforward. His experience, obviously his resume is LinkedIn has been amazing. Egor goes, AJ comes. There will be others of this ilk, the top ten type players in the future. BYU has an eye for this. They have one of the best staffs in the country. They have a great recruiter in Justin Young, who’s been in the high school game and AAU game for a long time. He just happens to be Kevin’s brother, which is funny to me. These guys know ball and they’re making it happen right now, so I think Egor going. Eight continues. The momentum that BYU has of player development, because BYU was interested in the 28th pick that went last night as well, Hugo Gonzalez. Apparently his contract reportedly didn’t allow for him to potentially come over as well from Real Madrid with Egor. But look at the difference of if Egor had stayed at Real Madrid and been perhaps buried on the bench behind seasoned veterans, that Real Madrid is arguably the best team outside the NBA in the world. Maybe he doesn’t go eight. >> No, he certainly doesn’t. His decision to go to BYU amplified his exposure and his ability to move up the draft. >> I look at Hugo and Egor and I go, wow, what a difference from the opportunity that Egor got to come here, play BYU, develop under the system, play in the big 12, be coached by Kevin Young, and so on and so forth, and he goes 20 spots higher. Hugo played for a championship team but he was a backup. Egor comes here, he gets a chance to flourish. He goes five and a half assists per game, which is a BYU record, by the way over Danny Angel’s freshman year. Incredible. And he is the number eight pick. So this just continues the momentum that BYU has. And I can’t wait to see where this goes because this is the tip of the iceberg. >> Fun fact BYU is already a legitimate contender for the number one overall ranked high school basketball prospect in the 2027 class. Of course, they’re on the board again, so if you want proof, just start there. >> I don’t think that people say we don’t have enough proof. I think getting Egor demon and getting AJ Dybantsa is plenty of proof that this is working. And you saw the style of play from BYU. You saw the development of Richie Saunders as the most improved player in the big 12. Richie Saunders name, by the way, in a year is going to be called, whether it’s in the first or second round. We believe that that will happen. And if it’s not, he’s going to crack in as an undrafted free agent, whatever. But it’s exciting to see where this is headed. >> If you do something once, it’s like, okay, well, let’s see if you can do it again. But then you bring in AJ Dybantsa. It’s like, okay, it’s a trend.

Egor Demin was drafted yesterday as the 8th overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets. Spencer and Jarom break down the fit for him and the impact it will have on BYU Men’s basketball.
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