This seems like a PERFECT fit for the Jazz if they don’t Cooper Flagg.
One of the most exciting names in college basketball is BYU freshman Egor Demin, who is off to an incredibly hot start this season.
After one of the strongest debuts of any first-year player, the 18-year-old freshman from Russia looks like one of the most promising prospects in all of college basketball. He is averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 assists per game at 6-foot-9, shooting 11-of-20 (.550) on 3-pointers as well.
Read more from Jonathan Wasserman on why this is such a good pick (via Bleacher Report):
“While the Cooper Flagg hype came built in after years of coverage and NBA accessibility, no player has generated more NBA buzz on his own so far than Egor Demin.
BYU coach Kevin Young has given the freshman an ideal role to showcase his on-ball upside, and the Russian has capitalized, looking like a legitimate 6’9″ initiator creating advantages and setting up teammates with his handle, size and passing IQ.
So far, he’s looked fluid and convincing enough for scouts to start feeling confident in his ability to continue playmaking at a high level in the NBA.
He also looks substantially further ahead as a shooter than previous jumbo playmakers like Josh Giddey, Anthony Black or even Scottie Barnes. Demin made 11 threes over his first four games. And even if the accuracy falls off, his early start and track record overseas point to clear shotmaking confidence and shooting becoming a regular part of his scoring attack.
Looking ahead, scouts will be eager to assess Demin against power-conference opponents, specifically his ability to create separation and finish inside the arc.”
Demin has not faced much competition so far this season. Among all teams ranked in the top 30, via KenPom, only five have had less difficult strength of schedule so far. But if he can keep this up, expect he will only continue this ascension on draft boards.
The Jazz could make a lot of sense for Demin to pair him with Keyonte George as their backcourt of the future. Jazz chairman Ryan Smith and CEO Danny Ainge both attended BYU and are reportedly very big donors to the university. They would likely find it thrilling to add the next great BYU star to their roster.
Another team with potential interest is the Spurs, who selected him in ESPN’s latest mock draft.
Kansas went into BYU and knocked the Cougars from the unbeaten ranks
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels’ foot — not feet nor arm — wound up delivering the key play in the Jayhawks’ 17-13 win over previously undefeated BYU on Saturday.
Daniels was called on for a pooch punt in the fourth quarter. He placed it perfectly, not in the coffin corner, off the helmet of one of the Jayhawks.
4th & 14 at BYU 36
(13:23 – 4th) Jalon Daniels punt for 26 yds , Evan Johnson returns for no gain to the BYU 3 Evan Johnson fumbled, recovered by KU Quentin Skinner
Kansas recovered the live football and on the next play, Devon Neal scored on a 3-yard run to give the Jayhawks the lead for good.
The Cougars came in 9-0 and seventh in the College Football Playoff Ranking. They never got untracked against the Jayhawks.
Their lead at 13-10 came after a 10:30 drive to start the final quarter. It was the last points they scored.
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw an interception late in the first half and his pass on fourth down on BYU’s final drive came up short of a first down inside the Kansas 10.
San Antonio would end up with two of the best freshmen in the NCAA.
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most interesting teams in the league due to Victor Wembanyama, and it will only get more fascinating.
San Antonio currently has two projected lottery picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, which could help them continue to retool around Wembanyama after picking Stephon Castle in the 2024 NBA Draft.
“Knueppel’s ability to shoot off screens, pull up off the dribble and spot up from deep vantage points with picture-perfect footwork and mechanics should keep him prominent in draft conversations, especially with the way he has contributed in other areas as well with his physicality, feel for the game and better-than-expected shot creation and defense.”
They also added that Knueppel is “arguably the best shooter” in this draft class.
Read more from them on Demin:
“Few freshmen have been more impressive than Demin, who is utilizing a tremendous platform at BYU to showcase his outstanding size, spectacular court vision, shotmaking prowess and all-around talent against, thus far, lower-level competition.”
Demin has looked fantastic as a tall playmaker for BYU, and he could provide a spark as the point guard of the future for San Antonio.
AJ Dybantsa could command over $4M in NIL money, and the Utah Jazz ownership could help the BYU Cougars land the No. 1 overall prospect.
The BYU Cougars are one of seven teams reportedly still in the running for AJ Dybantsa, the top high school prospect in the country and a player with legitimate superstar potential. But it sounds like landing the Utah Prep star is going to cost a pretty penny…or slightly more.
Dybantsa is expected to land an NIL package over $3 million, and a source close to the BYU program told Pete Nakos that the Cougars are prepared to pay $4-4.5M to land the 6’9 wing, with financial backing coming from Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and executive and former BYU standout Danny Ainge.
Dybantsa wrapped up an official visit at BYU on Oct. 11, his fifth OV in the last six weeks. Previous visits included Kansas State, Kansas, North Carolina, and Alabama. Auburn and Baylor are the two other schools in Dybantsa’s top seven.
While Dybantsa’s father indicated NIL is not a driving factor in his son’s recruitment, the allure of staying in Utah and playing in the Big 12, and potentially teaming up with current teammate and four-star point guard prospect JJ Mandaquit, could lead to a seismic shift in the college basketball landscape.
Ever since former Phoenix Suns assistant coach Kevin Young took over for Mark Pope at BYU this offseason, the Cougars have gone to work bringing high profile talent to Provo. Russian guard and incoming freshman Egor Demin is considered a one-and-done talent, while Purdue decommit Kanon Catchings has that potential as well.
It appears Young has the green light to pursue anyone and everyone he can convince to join his program, no matter the cost. When NBA ownership groups are in your pocket, in this day and age, just about anything is possible on the hardwood.
Despite perfect record, BYU not among CFP projections.
The Big 12’s college football regular season is roughly halfway through with each team having played four conference matchups. With five conference games left on each team’s remaining slate, there is still plenty to be determined with the Iowa State Cyclones and BYU Cougars leading the way. Iowa State is the highest-ranked team in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll checking in at No. 10 overall, BYU is on their heels at No. 12.
Beyond the top two teams in the conference, it is crowded at the top with six teams separated by just a game. One of those teams is the Colorado Buffaloes, who just keep winning football games in an impressive turnaround from Year 1 of the Deion Sanders era. The start of the season was a bit rough but Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have this team humming along. This week the Buffs take on Cincinnati at home.
Before we dive into Week 9 action, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports released his weekly bowl projections. There are two teams from the conference projected to make the College Football Playoffs and one of them is not BYU.
College Football Playoff Projections
Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Despite a close call the last time out against the UCF Knights, who have been hot and cold, the Iowa State Cyclones are very much in the thick of the CFP chase. They land at No. 11 overall in Smith’s projections and would face the Oregon Ducks in Eugene in the opening round. That is a tough matchup but perhaps they beat the Ducks in a bowl game again, just as they did in the 2020-21 Playstation Fiesta Bowl?
As for the second team in the projections who hails from the Big 12 we have the Kansas State Wildcats. It might surprise some to see BYU get overlooked but the Wildcats are a proven commodity. They get the nod and based on the projection are viewed as the favorite to win the conference. The only argument and a valid one is BYU’s 38-9 win over Kansas State in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 21.
Iowa State vs Oregon (Campus site CFP first-round matchup)
Kansas State vs Texas (Fiesta Bowl, CFP quarterfinal matchup)
Big 12 Bowl Projections
Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Of the 16 teams in the conference, 11 are going bowling according to the latest projections.
Oklahoma State vs Maryland (Guaranteed Rate Bowl)
Cincinnati vs Vanderbilt (Liberty Bowl)
Utah vs Missouri (Las Vegas Bowl)
Colorado vs Duke (Holiday Bowl)
Texas Tech vs Pittsburgh (Pop-Tarts Bowl)
BYU vs Washington State (Alamo Bowl)
Arizona State vs Tulane (Independence Bowl)
TCU vs South Carolina (Texas Bowl)
West Virginia vs Marshall (First Responders Bowl)
Who gets left out of the postseason
Rob Gray-Imagn Images
The teams that are left out of the postseason projection all share an identical 1-3 conference record. The only team with one conference win that is projected to make the postseason is the Utah Utes, who are currently 4-3 overall. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the only team in the Big 12 with a conference win at 0-4, were included in the postseason bowl projections. That’s a bold move Cotton, let’s see if it works out for them.
BYU was in danger of its undefeated season being dashed. Then Jake Retzlaff found Darius Lassiter with a pass in the final seconds of Friday’s game with Oklahoma State.
The 35-yard touchdown play with 10 seconds left gave the Cougars a 38-35 victory in the Big 12. BYU is 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference.
The Big 12 is having a fantastic year in football, but it’s going under the radar. Can the BYU Cougars and Iowa State Cyclones BOTH get the Big 12 into the College Football Playoff?
The Big 12 conference is well aware of how easily they can be unjustly left out of the biggest events of a college football postseason. The very first College Football Playoff left out a talented TCU Horned Frogs team and a great Baylor Bears team even though both teams were 11-1.
In 2016, the 2-loss Oklahoma Sooners were kept out even though they were a conference champion, while a non-conference champion Ohio State Buckeye team was let in. But this year? This year, if the results continue to roll in as they have, it will be a travesty if two Big 12 teams DON’T make the College Football Playoff.
We are halfway through the college football season, and the Big 12 has two undefeated teams. The No. 13 BYU Cougars and No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones are both 3-0 in Big 12 play and 6-0 overall. And, what makes this spicier, is that they won’t play each other until a hypothetical Big 12 Championship game in Arlington.
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Is it a “Sure Thing?”
Both teams have games they might lose. BYU still has to play the Utah Utes in the “Holy War” rivalry game. While Utah still has questions to figure out, this is traditionally the epitome of the “throw out the record books.” Utah leads the all-time series 59-32-4, but BYU won their last matchup in 2021. This year? The vaunted BYU defense will likely get to feast on freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson. Yes, Isaac is the younger brother of BYU great and NFL quarterback Zach Wilson. Yes, that’s the “Holy War” for you.
Iowa State also has to play Utah, but they have to see the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0 in Big 12 play) and No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats as well. That’s three tough games in the back half of the season… but they’re also all played in Ames, Iowa.
In a year where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish sit at No. 12 in the AP poll with a loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies, why can’t both BYU and ISU make it? No. 8 LSU Tigers team has a loss to the unranked USC Trojans. The No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers have a loss to an unranked Arkansas Razorbacks (who are 0-1 against Big 12 opponents this year).
If the Big 12 football continues to have football so nice, why can’t the CFP invite it twice?
The Big 12 had ANOTHER exciting week of college football. BYU and Iowa State lead the way, but where did Colorado fall after a tough loss to Kansas State?
It would be hard for the Big 12 conference to fit more excitement into a five-game slate than they did last weekend. In a weekend that was set to be dominated by rivalries in the SEC and Big Ten, Big 12 football still seemed to dominate the headlines.
You had ranked teams falling apart (sorry, Utah Utes), last-minute comeback heroics (shouts to the Kansas State Wildcats), and dominant efforts from College Football Playoff caliber teams (Iowa State Cyclones and BYU Cougars… We see you).
The Big 12 did have six teams on byes this week, but that didn’t stop some of them from moving in our power rankings. Further, the top of the conference appears up for grabs… while the bottom continues to be more or less the same week to week. While that’s up for some programs to figure out, the “truck stop conference” appears to be doing anything besides stopping.
Rob Gray-Imagn Images
No. 1 – BYU Cougars
Dominant defense, strong specialists, and an offense capable of getting the job done. BYU gets to boast a lot of things after getting to 6-0 over the weekend with a convincing win over the Arizona Wildcats. Provo, Utah, continues to look like one of the toughest places to play in America.
No. 2 – Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State went halfway across the country to Morgantown, West Virginia, and beat the West Virginia Mountaineers into the “should we fire our coach?” conversation. ISU continues to impress with their explosive receiving core and dominant defensive backs. It’s hard to pick a team more built for modern football.
No. 3 – Kansas State Wildcats
Quarterback Avery Johnson may have had the best play of the weekend with his game-winning 50-yard touchdown pass over the Colorado Buffaloes. Johnson was held in check as a runner, but the rest of the Wildcats added over 200 yards rushing to make up for his -15. KSU continues to dominate Big 12 play since dropping their game to BYU. Thankfully for one fan in particular.
No. 4 – Texas Tech Red Raiders
Had the Red Raiders not lost so badly to the Washington State Cougars in the non-conference, it would be easy to rank Tech even higher. Tech comes out of the bye unscathed, but their in-conference strength of schedule is questionable. Narrowly beating the Cincinnati Bearcats and Arizona Wildcats hasn’t aged well, but beating the Arizona State Sun Devils in Lubbock looks better each week. Tech has similarly weak opponents the next two weeks, but if they can scare Iowa State later this month they may have a shot to climb.
No. 5 – Arizona State Sun Devils
ASU climbs the highest this week. Last week’s 8th-place team leaps into the top half of the conference after knocking off what’s left of quarterback Cam Rising and the Utah Utes. While that game may tell us more about Utah, it’s hard to ignore Arizona State’s 5-1 record. That, and they have a running back with the best running back name in college football: Cam Skattebo.
No. 6 – Cincinnati Bearcats
Last weekend’s narrow win in Orlando over the UCF Knights may ultimately tell us more about UCF, Gus Malzahn, and whatever the situation is with KJ Jefferson… but for now, Cincy is 4-2 and their two losses are to an undefeated Pitt Panthers team and those darned Red Raiders. When he’s “right,” quarterback Brendan Sorsby is a talented gunslinger and Corey Kiner is a strong back.
No. 7 – Colorado Buffaloes
Coach Deion “Prime” Sanders, his son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and wide receiver cornerback Travis Hunter make for a star-studded team… but the Buffs continue to flirt with the bad type of destiny as they continue to play these close finishes. Colorado thought they had a huge win over KSU with just under three minutes left…Now, they look ahead to get on track with Arizona.
No. 8 – Arizona Wildcats
Arizona’s win over Utah is looking less impressive, and while their loss to BYU isn’t disqualifying… it wasn’t pretty. Big Noon Kickoff and the crowd it brought created a challenging environment, but quarterback Noah Fifita needed to show America something in this one.
No. 9 – Utah Utes
The Utes will want to blame the Friday night collapse to Arizona State on the “first-game-back-rust” of Cam Rising, but truthfully they were outplayed as an entire offense. The biggest thing keeping Utah from a precipitous fall is that, if Rising were to return to form, they have some potential big wins on their schedule. Until they hit those marks, they continue to trend down.
Ben Queen-Imagn Images
No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia with the rare “climbs a spot in a loss,” but that is really more a function of teams ahead of them falling. WVU has three losses to three teams who may all end up in the College Football Playoff (and are all ranked in the AP top 10 right now), but at some point they’re going to have to beat the good teams put in front of them. WVU could shoot up the rankings if they finish 9-3, but they face another ranked opponent next weekend in Kansas State.
No. 11 – Oklahoma State Cowboys
OSU manages to “climb a spot without playing,” which is really hard for a team that is 0-3 in conference to pull off. But it’s hard to “get worse” in a week you don’t play, and we have to assume they’re working on their quarterback issues in the bye week, right? A return to Arlington for the Big 12 title game is out of reach… but is a good bowl game?
No. 12 – Houston Cougars
The Coogs are still riding high off of a win over TCU more than a week ago, and head to Arrowhead stadium looking to build on an actual “winning streak.” Unlike other teams in this part of the Power Rankings, it appears they may have found a quarterback in Zeon Chriss. If they can ride the dual threat of Chriss into a few more Big 12 wins, who’s to say they can’t shock the world and make a bowl game?
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
No. 13 – TCU Horned Frogs
TCU is another team that couldn’t get worse if they weren’t playing, but they are hoping to take advantage of a down Utah team this weekend. TCU blew a late one to UCF and beat the Kansas Jayhawks. While that makes it weird to put them ahead of UCF… It’s a function of what we’ve seen on the field most recently.
No. 14 – UCF Knights
I get it- it’s weird to see UCF fall below a team they beat. But UCF is spiraling, and positively worse than they were a few weeks ago. They have major questions at quarterback, a prominent media voice asking for a new coach, and two games coming up they absolutely will not win. The Bounce House is a tough place to play, but it’s hard to feel good about what’s happening in Orlando.
No. 15 – Baylor Bears
The bye week didn’t change anyone’s mind on head coach Dave Aranda. I’m sure they’re going to have a great Tuesday practice, but until they have a good game, they’re going to sit at the bottom of the power rankings. It feels impossible that they head into Lubbock and compete, let alone win, right?
No. 16 – Kansas Jayhawks
Still can’t be ranked higher than last in an FBS conference until you beat an FBS team.
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is off to a scorching hot start against Baylor in Waco.
The BYU Cougars started the college football season 3-0 with road wins over SMU and Wyoming, but didn’t really start to get attention until blasting Kansas State in the Big 12 opener, 38-9, in Week 4.
Now the nationally ranked Cougars are putting on a clinic in Waco, TX, going up 21-7 in the first quarter against the Baylor Bears behind a dominant start from quarterback Jake Retzlaff.
Retzlaff completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter, but it was a 17-yard touchdown run with 3:39 left in the quarter that gave BYU a 21-0 lead and quieted the surprising number of doubters still unsure if Retzlaff is the right man to lead the Cougars under center this season.
Retzlaff appeared in four games for BYU in 2023, completing just over 50% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. This season he looked outstanding in Week 1 over Southern Illinois, but threw a pair of picks against SMU and another against Wyoming, which had some folks worried he was too turnover prone for Kalani Sitake’s offense.
Retzlaff worked hard to put that narrative to rest with a pair of touchdown passes and a 71.4% completion rate against Kansas State, and now with a touchdown in the air and his first rushing score of the season already in the books against Baylor, it’s clear Retzlaff is not only good enough to start for BYU, he could lead them to a top three finish in the Big 12 and – perhaps – a shocking run to the College Football Playoff.
