BYU Basketball 24-25-Bring out the Jelly!

[SteelBlue]

These guys were the earliest to be talking about Egor Demin coming to BYU and here they discuss why they think BYU has a real chance to land the #1 recruit in the country. They are not Y fans (at all). Some pretty funny quotes at the end.

[BigPiney]

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yay!

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[Omaha 680]

Yay!

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About #200 ranked player in the portal overall and in the 30s for Power Forwards. Not too shabby.

[Jeff Lebowski]

About #200 ranked player in the portal overall and in the 30s for Power Forwards. Not too shabby.

Rated as a 4-star transfer. One of the top defensive players in the portal.

[Goatnapper'96]

Rated as a 4-star transfer. One of the top defensive players in the portal.

Mag defends better than any player on the roster does anything. Also for an offensively challenged guy his ppg were the same as Waterman last year-and did so coming off an ACL tear. I am admittedly always disposed towards defense and athleticism before shooting ability-but IMO I would rather have Mag than Waterman although had Pope stayed and BYU returned essentially its entire roster that familiarity would have been a huge boon and likely resulted in BYU's whole being significantly more than the sum of the parts. However, given the change at HC my druthers would have been Mag over Waterman had I been given one to choose.

Now that 11 of the scholarships are spoken for and since I am assuming the preponderance of the rotational players are included in that 11 I am comfy speculating who starts and plays etc.


I expect the following 5 as your starters:

1.) Hall-I think Dallin will be the most improved player on the team and a candidate for all conference at some level. I think his scoring will improve from the 9 ppg to the 13 mpg realm. I expect his apg average to actually decrease a bit because Demin and Crawford bring ball handling and facilitating skills that no other BYU player had last season.
2.) Trevin Knell-I think the starting lineup will need Trevin's offensive punch and shooting. Of the starters I think Trevin will see the fewest minutes but given his experience and shooting ability, and how I don't think 3 point shooting will be a strength for other starters I expect Trevin to get the starting role.
3.) Egor Demin. From the highlights this kid looks as good to me as Marcus whatshisname? He will be a true freshman and given that this team has other good players, unlike BYU when Danny Ainge was a FR, I don't expect him to be BYU's leading scorer but I hope he is 2nd. He is expensive and perhaps a godless commie-but I will love him anyway as long as he is good! If he leads BYU to the Final 4 the first pack of black market knock off cigarettes and cheap cognac are on me!
4.) Mawol Mag. Kid has experience and his defense is a consistent rock you know you can build upon on that side of the court. I think folks are making too much out of his offensive issues-he was better as a SO before his ACL tear and my guess is he will be surrounded by better players than he had at Rutgers.
5.) Fous. I expect Fous to be BYU's leading scorer.

Off the bench:
1.) Crawford. Similar to Demin-another true freshman so we really don't know but my guess is he will get the chance to play the 1 when Dallin Hall is on the bench. I also see scenarios where he and Hall can both be on the court at the same time but if Baker gets healthy I don't expect that to happen much this next year. I think our PG and facilitating situation is much, much better than last year and BYU will be better when things break down than they were last year. Admittedly, to get there BYU is relying upon 2 true freshman but these are both kids who are highly recruited. My expectation and plan is they can do it until they prove otherwise. If that happens then BYU right back where it was last year.
2.) Dawson Baker. If healthy I think he will get BYU 10ppg off the bench and be a huge offensive spark plug.
3.) Richie Saunders. Love.Love.Love. this.kid. Richie gives BYU a great reserve wing whose flexibility allows him to play the 2-4. That gives the coach more flexibility and allows for the rotation to tighten.
4.) Koz. My guess is he sees decent reserve minutes in the OOC schedule and likely is the guy squeezed out of the rotation once BYU gets to Big 12 play. Strange to say that about an LDS kid ranked as 3-4 stars and a top 100 recruit, but that between Keita's athleticism and Saunders' toughness that is how I see it playing out for him this year.
5.) Keita. I expect Fouss to play 24 mpg and Keita to be the 5 the other 16 mpg and I think Keita is on the court together with Fouss for 4-6 mpg with Keita playing, or at least defending, the opposing 4.

For MPG:
Hall-28
Knell-20
Demin-26
Mag- 26
Fouss- 24
Baker- 21
Saunders - 22
Keita-21
Crawford-12

I think that had Pope stayed and had the roster stayed in tact-BYU would have been a better team, but I believe this team ought to be good enough to make the NCAA tourney and even win a game. In light of the losing 4 players I was expecting to be rotational guys next season, the coaching change and with the financial commitment we are seeing these are exciting times indeed!

[Jeff Lebowski]

Goat, it seems wildly inaccurate to classify Ego Demin as a "true freshman".

[Goatnapper'96]

Goat, it seems wildly inaccurate to classify Ego Demin as a "true freshman".

It is still a big jump in competition level and a different environment. I expect him to be good but I think it takes a year for him to develop into star power. I predict the kid is a 2 and done and it is his second year where the team builds upon him. My expectation is this year he is one of the better pieces of a good team. I expect Fouss to be the leading scorer and Demin to be 2nd and Demin and Hall to be the 2 best all around players.

[Clark Addison]

That is potentially one heck of a second five

[Bo Diddley]

Let's hope this year's team just gets better as the season progresses and they peak in the tourney.

[Goatnapper'96]

That is potentially one heck of a second five

I agree. If Koz's minutes gets squeezed out of the rotation during Big 12 play, that is an indicator IMO of how good I think the 4 primary reserves (Saunders, Baker, Keita and Crawford) will be.

[Jeff Lebowski]

It is still a big jump in competition level and a different environment. I expect him to be good but I think it takes a year for him to develop into star power. I predict the kid is a 2 and done and it is his second year where the team builds upon him. My expectation is this year he is one of the better pieces of a good team. I expect Fouss to be the leading scorer and Demin to be 2nd and Demin and Hall to be the 2 best all around players.

So the projected lottery pick does two years? I doubt it, but that would be nice.

[Omaha 680]

So the projected lottery pick does two years? I doubt it, but that would be nice.

He's gonna want to chase a natty his second year after KY lands AJ (not Applejack. Although this post is mostly for him).

[SteelBlue]

”I think I’m Mormon now.”

[Donuthole]

"The name Brigham is hella underrated." I know at least one CSer who agrees.