Muscovite Yegor Demin, 18, made a splash in his NCAA debut for Brigham Young University (BUY Cougars). In the game against Arkansas, the guard scored 18 points and made 11 assists. Egor’s team won with a score of 88:50 and the American press highly appreciated the talent and mature game of the Russian beyond his years.
The correspondent discussed the successes of the young leader with his father Vladimir Demin, a former basketball player for Khimki and Ural Great.
From Demin Sr.’s interview you will learn
“The junior period is over and we are thinking about what comes next”
— Yegor had a great career in the Real Madrid system; he had a contract for several years with the Madrid club. Why did he decide to go to America?
— Of course, it was another very good step in his preparation. Let’s start with the fact that everything was going very well for Yegor and in Russia. He had a great school and a great coach. Egor graduated from the Moscow Basketball Academy, Trint department. He was trained by Evgeny Gorbunov, his son was lucky with this specialist.
When an offer from Madrid appeared, Egor flew to Spain and spent three years there – from 15 to 18 years old. This was a very important step in his development as a player. He found himself in good conditions and alongside leading partners. The level of competition is high: the team participated in the Junior Euroleague and won it twice. Since during this period our team did not play matches on the international stage, the experience gained in the Real Madrid system became very important.
Everything went as we planned. Because Egor had a certain status in the team. This role suited us: he played a lot with the ball, was a key player and often played in first position. The coach saw him in this role. And in the Real Madrid junior team there is a fairly serious level of competition, and he had good development opportunities.
But the junior period is over. So we thought about the next step. Since Egor’s grades increased and, according to scouts, he began to be predicted to enter the NBA draft, we had to make a decision.
In terms of play, the main criteria were that he remained in his usual role, that he had maximum playing time and that he had influence on the play of the team in which he played.
“Scouts from Brigham Young University specially went to Madrid to observe Egor”
— How do you assess Yegor’s chances of becoming an NBA player in the near future?
— Let’s see, some predictions are not entirely premature, but there is no need to get ahead of ourselves. According to scouts, Yegor has a good chance of being drafted in the lottery (lottery picks are the first 14 picks in the NBA draft. – Note: ).
Today the most important thing for Yegor is good development. First, in the United States, it is the focus of NBA specialists and recruiters. Secondly, given the fairly wide choice of universities available to us, we chose a university with great ambitions and great opportunities. They’re building a new basketball program there and a top NBA coach, Kevin Young, came there. It includes all the criteria that NBA players must have. Young personally invited Yegor. It turns out that scouts from Brigham University had been watching Yegor’s game for a long time.
— Did they go to Madrid specifically to see Yegor?
– Exactly. And we didn’t even know it.
They collected information on him and made an informed offer that was difficult to refuse. The coach clearly explained how he sees the team and Yegor’s role in this team. It suited us. Our expectations are justified, since Egor’s role in the team is important: he has a dominant influence on the game, has authority in the team as a leader, as a player who creates many good opportunities for its partners. The coach believes in him and builds the game around him, among other things. And we saw it in his first match. If everything continues to happen the same way, then this path is probably the most correct.
Of course, a lot depends on Yegor himself. It won’t be easy. It’s clear. Because it’s a very competitive league. During the first match, the opponent was not the most serious. But it should be taken into account that Egor is one of the youngest players in this league. The number one position in American basketball is usually occupied by strong, small, very fast guys focused on aggressive defense. For Yegor, with his anthropometry, it will be a test. On the one hand, of course, he will have a certain advantage over his rivals, but on the other hand, he will be under pressure and he will have to deal with it. Let’s see how everything goes.
— How difficult will the season be in the NCAA?
— The season is difficult – a lot of travel, matches in three days on the fourth. The first match took place in front of 20,000 spectators – also a significant pressure factor. Especially for people who have never played in such arenas.
But we saw that Egor not only was not embarrassed, but on the contrary, the energy of the audience supported him and he demonstrated a very high quality tight game. I believe this is due to the experience my son gained in Madrid, where the level of competition was the most serious. Experience in final matches and leadership roles is very important for players while they are still on their development path. This gives him an advantage over other players.
“Egor’s day is planned minute by minute”
— Is it difficult for Yegor to live alone in the United States?
– He has been independent since the age of fifteen. He now lives 28 miles from Utah. Lives alone in an apartment: abandoned campus. The day is scheduled literally minute by minute. It is very difficult for us to call when we want. In the morning he undergoes training, in the afternoon – university, then training again. The training process is built in large blocks: they spend about five hours with the whole team. First therapy, then recovery procedures and a team meeting, then the gym and a big team training session. And Egor also works a lot individually.
Plus, they create a lot of team activities there: the guys can go out to play golf together, attend the football team’s games. It’s their team time. And they also have their own media department: they create podcasts about the team and the players. Basketball players also need time for this.
—But studying probably also takes a lot of time?
– Of course. They do some things at university, some remotely, and the guys have homework. It is important that Yegor already speaks English perfectly and does not encounter any problems either in everyday life or in terms of study.
— Are you planning to come to Yegor in the near future?
“I don’t think that’s necessary at the moment.” There is no urgent reason for this.
More sports news in our telegram channel .
Source : MatchTV
My name is Adam Jackson and I am an author. I have been writing about Basketball games for over a decade now and am excited to share my knowledge with you all. Additionally, I am also interested in other sports and enjoy discussing them with others. Contact me if you want to discuss any Basketball-related topics!
