After team falls in Sweet 16, freshman guard Egor Demin doesn’t rule out return to BYU

NEWARK, N.J. — Not so fast, supposedly NBA-bound BYU freshman Egor Demin said Thursday night after the Cougars were routed 113-88 by Alabama at Prudential Center in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game.

While Demin has widely been considered a “one-and-done” player at BYU because of his potential to be an NBA draft lottery pick this summer, the teenager from Moscow, Russia, said several times after the lopsided loss that he has not ruled out returning for at least one more year of college basketball.

“As I already said, I am not really trying to think about it yet. I am trying to, you know, it was probably 15 minutes after the time ended on the court, so I am not even, I have no energy to even think about it,” Demin said after scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds against the second-seeded Crimson Tide.

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“I am just trying to enjoy the moment.”

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Another future NBA draft pick — perhaps the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft — who will play for BYU next season, AJ Dybantsa, attended Thursday’s game with his parents and mingled in the BYU cheering section before the contest.

Asked if having the No. 1 high school prospect in the country coming to BYU next year will affect his decision, Demin said it actually could.

“Of course, yeah, AJ is an amazing player. For me, it is super attractive to have a chance to play with him on the same team,” Demin said. “I think he is fitting in really well to this environment here. He was here today. I just saw him. I said ‘Hi’ to him through the crowd. He is a good guy, and an amazing player, as I have already said. That is attractive to me.”

Demin, who shot the ball poorly on Thursday — he was 6 of 14 from the field and 1 of 8 from 3-point range — also said that the bitter, lopsided loss could serve as motivation for him to return and give March Madness another shot.

“For sure, of course. You know me. I would say I am a little bit of a perfectionist in everything I do. We are talking about the process right now and I want everything to be perfect,” he said. “I am not going to be satisfied with the (conclusion) of the season as we are talking about the basketball, right, as a result, if it is not the title. What I am satisfied for is for this team, and for this season, what it was looking like during the season.”

After appearing at the dais with outgoing seniors Mawot Mag, Fouss Traore, Trevin Knell and Trey Stewart, BYU coach Kevin Young spent a few minutes talking to reporters who cover BYU full-time and said that BYU played well enough offensively to make it a competitive game, but fell way short defensively.

Alabama made 25 3-pointers on 51 attempts, while BYU was just 6 of 30 from deep.

When Young was told that Demin did not rule out a return to BYU in 2025-26, he smiled and said he won’t “pitch anything” to the youngster but will “lend him some advice” if he asks for it.

“I think those are calculated decisions. He’s got a great support team in his corner. And so that stuff is very personal. It is also very situational,” Young said. “… I will do the best I can, given my NBA connections and so forth, trying to make sure he understands how they view him, where they view him at and so forth.

“Obviously we would clearly welcome him back. He is an unbelievable kid. He cares so much about this program, about this university. I mean, he loves BYU, man,” Young continued. “He told me one time, ‘Coach, I could play here for the next 10 years, man.‘”

What was Young’s response?

“I said, just give me four,” the coach said. “But that speaks to how much he has really embraced the community. Whether he goes to the NBA or comes back, or whatever, I will be rooting for that kid forever.”

Another BYU player who will have a big decision to make is leading scorer Richie Saunders, who had 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting.

Asked by the Deseret News if he will be back for his final season of eligibility next year, Saunders said it is too soon to say.

“I will try to figure it all out. You know?” He said. “I was just trying to get to the end of this season and (then) dive into what the future holds.”