Egor Dëmin insists he wasn’t just “sitting on the couch” this summer, using his idle time while recovering from a plantar fasciitis injury wisely and purposefully in preparation for his first season in the NBA.
The athletic 6-foot-8 point guard was listed at just 199 pounds when the Nets made him the eighth selection in this year’s draft out of BYU, incredibly making him the franchise’s first lottery pick since Derrick Favors was selected at No. 3 in 2010.
But Dëmin has used his downtime to add more than 10 pounds to his slender frame, and he noticed the difference when finally making his impressive preseason debut with 14 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes Friday night in Toronto.
“I think for me, it was the primary goal to be 205 at least before the season starts,” Dëmin said in preparation for Wednesday’s regular-season opener in Charlotte. “[I wanted] to be able to compete against athletes as we have [in the NBA], so I can be a little bit heavier to be stronger on defense, on offense, to get into the paint, and things like this.
“As long as I’m above that [number], it’s good, but not too much [because] I want to still be able to run. But I think I’m in a good balance right now with my weight, muscles and condition.”
The 19-year-old Dëmin was the first of a record five first-round picks selected by the rebuilding Nets, and he is competing with fellow rookies Nolan Traore (19th overall) and Ben Saraf (26th) for point-guard minutes from second-year Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández, who has not announced the Opening Night starter.
Traore and Saraf split the starts in the team’s four preseason games as the Moscow-born Dëmin attempted to learn while working his way back from the summertime injury.
“As a player, it’s rare for you to see the game from a different angle,” Dëmin said. “Normally, you just see from the standpoint of being on the court or just waiting for your turn. For me, it was just something like, OK, how can I impact my own [game], and because I’m not practicing, how can I get better?”
Dëmin continues to work on improving his outside shot after connecting on just 27.3 percent from 3-point range during his lone season at BYU.
He shot 43.5 percent from long distance during Las Vegas summer league play and nailed 2-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc Friday night against the Raptors.
“For sure, it was the same when I was entering the summer league. People were saying I can’t shoot or things like this, which if you look at the season in college, you probably can say I couldn’t shoot. I probably had, like, 28 percent from 3, which is crazy,” Dëmin said. “But it’s not like I’m just sitting on the couch at home, right? That’s definitely something that I’m working on.
“And it’s not just something that obvious, but pretty much everything. Things that people talk about, you gotta get better at dribbling, gotta get better at shooting, things like this, that’s obviously something that I’m aware of, and I’m really spending more time at that than anything else, things that I’m weak at. But I’m not only trying to do what I’m good at and be happy with whatever I have. I’m trying to be a versatile player and to be able to execute whatever I’m being asked, and being able to be the player that can shoot and dribble and do whatever I’m asked.”
Dëmin claims to be “super excited” for his rookie season to start Wednesday night, but his preseason debut last week also was a significant moment.
“I was waiting for the moment to step on the court again for probably near two months, and now when I’m back, I feel like I’m in good shape, I’m in good physical shape because I was lifting these two months without basketball,” Dëmin said. “I gained some weight so I feel a little bit stronger and a little bit more powerful. And now since I get to know people more, I can really speak up and try to be a leader on the court and be a point guard.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
