Saunders and Demin receive men's basketball All-Big 12 awards

Winning in one of the toughest conferences in America tends to come with some individual hardware, as is the case for BYU's leaders, Richie Saunders and Egor Demin.

On Monday, the Big 12 announced its men's basketball awards for the 2024-25 season. Saunders was named Most Improved as well as part of the 1st team All-Big 12. Demin was named to the All-Freshman team as well as Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Saunders has become Kevin Young's go-to scorer this season and has carried the Cougars to tight wins on the road under the first-year head coach Kevin Young's system.

With the larger role, Saunders increased his points per game from 9.6 last year to 16.0, while averaging 17.9 points per game during Big 12 play.

Saunders scored a career-high 30 points to open Big 12 play against Arizona State and never looked back from there, having seven more games scoring more than 20 points.

Along with his scoring average, his 3-point percentage jumped up from 36.4% last season to 43.7% this season and 45.1% in Big 12 play, which led the conference.

Saunders earned the last two Big 12 Player of the Week awards to end the regular season after wins against No. 23 Kansas, No. 19 Arizona, Arizona State, and West Virginia.

The junior forward has led the Cougars during the current eight-game win streak by making big plays in big moments, such as the two free throws at No. 19 Arizona to win the game.

Photo by BYU Photo

Saunders' iconic headband and relentless energy have captured the hearts of the fans as well as helped to set the identity of this BYU team.

Demin came into the season with the spotlight focused on him as a potential NBA lottery pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA draft. The expectations were set high, and through some freshman learning curves, Demin has shined in the spotlight.

Despite some early shooting struggles to start Big 12 play, Demin continued to show his high IQ and ability to dissect the defense off the pick and roll, averaging 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.

The 6'9" freshman from Moscow has put himself in the BYU and Big 12 record books with his playmaking ability.

Demin holds the record for most assists in a BYU debut (11) and is one of only eight freshmen to record over 100 assists in a season.

He also became only one of two Big 12 freshmen to have 10+ points and 10+ assists in their debut. The other player is Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young.

Photo by BYU Photo

Demin started the season earning two straight Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards.