Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoy this pure prospect analysis of five potential breakout impact players for their respective teams, and have future’s as potential draft picks.

Egor Demin

6’8 – Guard – BYU – 3/3/2006 – Moscow, Russia

Overview:

I’ll be the first to say that Egor Demin is not an under-the-radar prospect. The Russian 6’8 18-year-old has been a pro since he was 15. He has displayed tremendous potential and growth throughout his development, signing a contract with Real Madrid and cementing himself as one of the best basketball prospects to ever come out of Russia. When he signed with BYU, many of the same sentiments were repeated, ‘the most notable recruit in BYU basketball history’ (Pre-AJ era, hopefully). 

But if you aren’t familiar, here is some of Demin’s U16 FIBA tape:

Now that you get the idea, we can get excited together. Denim is by far the most enticing mega-guard prospect in the country due to his pace and fluidity. He has a great feel for contact and can be incredible when he gets downhill. I find his shot to be smooth and eye-grabbing as a long-term number-one option.

Getting to the nitty gritty, yes, Denim looks like a demon on tape, but his decision-making and consistency are both areas of improvement. Per Cerebro’s database, Denim made 2.1 threes a game across 69 Spanish Club games on a 29.4% clip. He was a bit better in FIBA, but he still hasn’t had many standout knockdown shooting displays, especially when he takes on high usage. With BYU, it will be interesting to see if he is able to evade some of the early mistakes and opt to kick and dish like a true lead guard. Otherwise, he can still be a fun scorer, with the stability of an at-the-rim arsenal at 6’8 for getting to the basket with ease. He also has done a good job of creating positive contact and converting at the line (74.3%). With fun vision and solid bag handles, Denim also could be a plus playmaker right away. He has some clear developments to make with his patience and reading, but he has gifted instincts, and those are always exciting to bet on. 

Essentially, just take a look at his overall resume. He has been a consistent threat at every level of play.

Hot Take:

He has the potential to be one of the bigger breakout stars that more people should have seen coming. 

Looking at BYU’s roster, they seem more than prepared as a group to embrace this type of addition. With the departure of Mark Pope and several key players, Denim has the chance to bring in a new era of basketball for the Cougars. Kanon Catchings is also on the roster as a potential breakout star with draft upside. If the pair can get off to a hot start, they both could engage in some big board debauchery early. 

Isaiah Abraham

6’8 – Wing/Forward – UCONN – 10/18/2005 – Gainesville, Va

Overview:

Sneaky impressive all the time. He reminds me a little of their addition last year, Stephon Castle or previous wings like, Andre Jackson.

On offense, Abraham jumps off the page as a plus-sized wing with a solid handle and quality finishing. He can create space off the dribble for jumpers or draw opponents out to defend him off the catch. Defensively, he may not live up to prior elite wing/guard tweeners, but Abraham still provides versatility wherever he is in a lineup. At the wing, he can push tempo and attack purposefully in transition. I like his long-term upside as an impact player, and will be underrated in draft circles.

Standout Performances:

He has a few strong shooting performances of late, a good look going into his freshman year. His per 40 numbers are unreal and worth doing the math on yourself.

Hot Take:

Abraham slides into Uconn’s starting lineup in his sophomore season and is a breakout star. Keepin’ it blunt, but he has the chops on ball and on defense to impact as a wing with usage or impact as a cutter with his size.

Aleksandar Gavalyugov

6’2 – Guard – Villanova – 1/22/2006 – Sofia, Bulgaria 

Overview:

Aleksandar has flown relatively under the radar coming out of Bulgaria. Even if we don’t see him next year, I expect Gava to turn heads in the long term with his playmaking prowess and knockdown shooting. He shot in the 93rd percentile off the catch in 2024 U18 FIBA, and has great touch on shots while moving. With his quick trigger off a variety of moves to create space and change pace, Gava knocked down 25 of 64 dribble jumpers, but on early pull-ups and rhythm shots, he was 7 for 11. With his already smooth and dynamic handle Gava has so much potential to be a dynamic player. The only thing really holding him back is size or defense questions. He puts a lot of size concerns at bay with his ability to get shots off quick and get defenders off balance, but going forward his burst and advantages may be minimized.  

Here is some FIBA U18 tape if you haven’t seen. Kid is a bucket and a gamer, real chance to be special.

Defensively, Gavalyugov has improved a bit as all good lead guards do. He stays active with his hands and can play lanes. The major point early in determining NBA prospects here for me, is if Gava can outproduce offensively whatever lapses he has on offense, he may be worth a look early. I think that’s where Gava’s playmaking is really the swing in the eval. He is going to shoot it well, but can he be a dynamic playmaker and impress NBA execs? 

The answer is maybe. He looked super shifty and had great change of pace at FIBA 2024, it will be something I am looking at early at Villanova. He has a variety of playmaking counters to good coverage on his shot diet and can deliver bullets to get through traffic. Across 226 pick-and-roll reps from U18 FIBA 2023 & 2024, including passes, Gavalyugov produced 0.867 points per possession. He showed capable decision-making in sets designed to mostly get him buckets or make easy reads. As the main player for Bulgaria, in 2024 Gava showed even better displays of primary creator in isolation. On 41 possessions, Gava produced 1.268 points per possession, with a variety of moves and angles on deliveries to open shooters or cutters. He has so much potential to be a major threat. He averaged 10.4 assists per 40 minutes in FIBA 2024 and I think he has a ton of skill already with hopefully an opportunity down the line with a major program to be a factor in March.

Standout Performances:

With plenty of experience, Gava showed out in 2024 at FIBA; he also has displayed positive traits in other major settings, although some of the efficiency has been up and down. 

Hot Take:

Flat out, kid can cook. I want to see him taking big shots in March at some point. I think we are looking at a huge part of the next era of Villanova basketball. 

Mikey Williams

&

JJ Taylor

6’3 & 6’8 – Guard & Wing/Forward – Central Florida (Memphis) – San Ysidro, CA

Overview:

This next pair to close the article is interesting. Both didn’t clock any notable minutes at Memphis last year, but I very much believe in their long-term development as swing prospects. This is a freshman article but they are as much freshmen as anyone else on this list, due to their lack of college experience, JJ Taylor & Mikey Williams both had a year of NCAA-caliber workouts, training, and hopefully development in several areas. They have been tied together since San Ysirdo high school and committed to Memphis as a duo with the hopes of making early impacts. JJ was the 136th-ranked recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, and Mikey was 39th. Mikey grew in notoriety previous to his commitment on social media with legit bounce delivering powerful dunks and scoring outbursts. Taylor, similarly, caught my attention with outrageous throw downs throughout his high school and AAU career. Both have also proven to be capable shooters, isolation weapons and energizers for a team. 

I am curious to see how they are utilized this year amongst other major transfers Benny Williams, Jordan Ivy-Curry & Keyshawn Hall from George Mason. I could see a world where high usage for Mikey, JJ, and Key can lead to an exciting team that should have draft implications. 

Mikey has some raw downhill scoring talent and if put in the right spot as a person and player could be a big-time player at any level. JJ has some of the most raw talent and athleticism I have seen as an evaluator. I hope both are locked in and ready to compete for this team next year, as there is really no evidence to stake any major stock in them as first-round prospects, no matter how talented they are. I love JJ’s jumper; I think he has a solid feel off the bounce and can potentially be a number one option type of scorer.

Standout Performances:

For JJ, his overall body of work as a scorer is impressive, but he also chips in with boards and some weakside rim protection. The efficiency is so shaky, but there is so much talent there I just want to see him get a chance. 

Mikey is a bit more well-known for a reason. Aside from a shaky performance in the OTE preseason, he has always been able to score in big moments. I am curious to see how he responds to the time and narratives between his last notable basketball game. With some leadership hopefully for him at Central Florida, he could be a sneaky pickup as a volume guard scorer either off the bench or as a starter. In his best games without scoring, he is a dime dropper. 

Hot Take:

Central Florida has what it takes talent-wise to win the Big 12. The biggest question for them, and both of these potential impact prospects, is whether they can lock down in big games against other talented teams.