If this piece dropped before the season, projecting a top-10 landing spot for Egor Demin might be akin to plucking the lowest-hanging piece of fruit. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony mocked Demin ninth overall in a way-too-early mock from February 2024, for instance.
Demin didn’t exactly light the college hoops world ablaze, though, and his draft stock took a significant hit. A recent mock from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had Demin going 18th overall, with Vecenie adding, “I’m a bit lower on Demin than this, but I’d put his range from the late lottery to No. 22 or so.”
So, why have Demin bouncing back now? Well, the same size-skill blend that initially tantalized scouts remains present. He is a 6’9″ primary playmaker with the vision to find open teammates all over the floor and the arm talent to zip passes that are seemingly always on time and exactly on target.
The question is whether he can score with any kind of consistency, but there is hope on that front. He flashed three-level scoring touch at BYU and then put on “one of the most impressive pro day performances we’ve seen in some time” at the combine, per Givony. Demin’s shot looks better than his shooting rates (27.3 percent from three, 69.5 percent from the line), and again, it only takes one franchise to believe it can “fix” him as a shooter.
There is, if nothing else, plenty of intrigue here. He has way too much feel and passing ability to be labeled as a blank slate, but the room for improvement as a shooter and scorer gives him the kind of growth potential often attached to a tools-y project pick. If he keeps impressing on the workout circuit, we’re wagering he’ll work his way back into the top 10 yet.
