Former BYU guard Egor Demin was one of 13 NBA draft hopefuls who received a green-room invite for this year’s event, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Tuesday afternoon.
Along with Demin, the other 12 invitees include Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the projected top overall draft pick, as well as Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, Arizona’s Carter Bryant, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears, Rutgers’ Dylan Harper, Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis, Texas’ Tre Johnson, Duke’s Kon Knueppel, Duke’s Khaman Maluach, Georgia’s Asa Newell and Maryland’s Derik Queen.
Another 11 green-room invites will also be extended, according to Givony, before the draft.
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This year’s NBA draft is taking place June 25 and 26 at the Barclays Center in New York City. The first round will begin at 6 p.m. MDT on June 25 and be televised on ESPN.
The green room at the NBA draft is an area in front of the podium where players, their families and agents follow the draft’s proceedings.
Typically, an invite to the green room is viewed as a positive sign that a prospect is likely to be taken in the first round.
It’s not a guarantee, though. Last year, Johnny Furphy and Kyle Filipowski were included among the first 20 invites, but they both fell to the second round. Filipowski was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 32nd overall pick.
“The process of deciding whom to invite to the NBA draft involves communication with the presidents or general managers of teams that pick throughout the first round,” Givony wrote. “Teams are asked to vote on the top 25 players they expect to hear their names called first. This is to ensure players aren’t sitting for very long before a national television audience.”
Demin, a native of Russia, played one season at BYU before declaring for the NBA draft.
The 19-year-old point guard, who is viewed as a potential draft lottery pick, averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds during his lone season playing for the Cougars. He helped BYU reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2011.
One of his primary weaknesses heading into draft preparations was Demin’s shooting — he shot 41.6% from the floor at BYU, as well as 27.3% from 3-point range.
Demin showed improvement in that area at the NBA combine.
The last time BYU had a player selected in the NBA draft was in 2011, when guard Jimmer Fredette was taken by Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th overall pick in the first round and shipped to the Sacramento Kings in a draft-day trade.
