BYU’s Egor Demin Joins NBA All-Star To Make Big 12 History
Nov 7, 2024, 9:11 PM
BYU basketball guard Egor Demin joined Trae Young as the only Big 12 Freshman to score 10+ and dish out 10+ assists in a debut. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball freshman Egor Demin is already generating buzz as one of the top freshmen in the nation.
The 6-foot-9 guard from Moscow, Russia, shined in BYU’s season opener against Central Arkansas earlier this week.
Demin scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists.
That stat line in a freshman debut was only accomplished by one other player in Big 12 Conference history.
Big 12 freshmen with 10+ points & 10+ assists in their debuts, all-time:
Trae Young, Oklahoma (11/12/2017)
Egor Demin, @BYUMBB (tonight) pic.twitter.com/VOtdfWU6iE— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) November 6, 2024
Former Oklahoma star and current NBA All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young, scored 15 points and 10 assists against Omaha in 2017.
Egor Demin joins Trae Young to make Big 12 freshman history
Those are the only two players in Big 12 history to score 10+ points and have 10+ assists in their freshman debut. That stat is courtesy of Stats Perform.
In his one season at Oklahoma, Young became the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and a Consensus All-American during the 2017-18 season.
Since leaving Oklahoma after his freshman season, Young has become a three-time NBA All-Star with the Hawks.
After his impressive BYU debut, Demin had basketball media saying he could be a potential Top Five pick in next June’s NBA draft.
The Big 12, which prides itself on being the best college basketball league in the nation, has been around since 1996 and has had some elite freshmen such as Kevin Durant (Texas), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State), and others.
Along with scoring 18 and 11 dimes, Demin had four steals and four rebounds in a stat-stuffing effort as BYU cruised to an 88-50 win over the Bears.
BYU basketball has a star in Demin
Demin’s 11 assists were also a BYU record as he became the first player to reach 11+ assists in a college debut.
“I like to pass the ball. I really believe that my first option is to involve everybody in the game before I get my game,” Demin said after the win over Central Arkansas. “If my team is playing good, I’m playing better, too.”
The former Real Madrid star was a significant recruiting win for first-year head coach Kevin Young this past spring. Demin became the first five-star signee to BYU in the internet era. So far, he’s living up to the lofty expectations.
Demin’s second game at BYU will be on Friday, November 8, against UC Riverside in Provo. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+ and KSL NewsRadio.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
