What is the key to unlocking Egor Demin’s transformation? Playing like he’s back at Real Madrid.

Denver • Just before BYU loaded the bus for Ball Arena on Thursday morning, Tim Fanning pulled his 6-foot-9 star point guard aside for a quick trip down memory lane.

BYU’s assistant coach was thinking about the last time Egor Demin played in a high-stakes tournament game. It was 10 months before, when the 18-year-old prospect punished the Paris club Pole France INSEP in the Euroleague U18 championship.

Playing for Real Madrid then, Demin had 26 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. It was a performance so complete, so breathtaking, that scouts rushed Demin to the top of NBA Draft boards in the aftermath. Some had him going in the top five.

So right before BYU’s NCAA Tournament run started, Fanning just wanted to plant that seed in Demin’s mind. He played carefree that night; hunting his shot and controlling the game. That’s the version of Demin BYU needed for the next three weeks.

“Just like that mentality,” Fanning said, retelling the story.

Demin hopped on the bus and proceeded to do exactly that.

In BYU’s opening act of the NCAA Tournament, he had 15 points and buried three triples. When the rest of his team looked stagnant in the first half, Demin came off screens, took it off the bounce and stepped into kick-outs to give BYU separation in a 80-71 win.

At one point, he hit a step-back three over veteran VCU guard Zeb Jackson. It was the kind of play that reminds scouts just how tantalizing of a prospect he is, and how high of a ceiling BYU has when he plays at that level.

“I thought tonight the shots he took were all in rhythm,” head coach Kevin Young said. “That’s a mature way to handle things, especially in a game like this, playing within yourself, not trying to do so much. The sky’s the limit.”

But it hasn’t always been that way for the 19-year-old prospect. There were plenty of nights when Demin looked frustrated and people questioned if he should even start for the Cougars — much less be a lottery pick.

He was shooting 27% from three. He went the entire month of December without connecting on a triple. When he finally did hit one against Texas Tech, his exhale was so palpable that he confessed the pressure gnawed at him.

“I think a lot of people were thinking I was in bad shape,” he admitted that night. “I was trying to find that moment of confidence as I had in the start of the season.”

But internally, BYU kept trying to coax out the star it recruited. Where some wanted BYU to give up on the Demin project and chase a tournament spot with proven veterans, Young knew the heights to which Demin could take his team.

Fanning was in the gym at 7 a.m. every morning working on Demin’s shot. He ran him through off-the-dribble work, pick-and-rolls and operating in the lane.

The moves he used to get away with in Europe wouldn’t fly in the Big 12, Fanning repeated over and over. He had to deal with the physicality, play lower to the ground and be stronger when attacking the paint.

“He was playing in the youth system [in Spain]. So there’s some very talented players, really smart players,” Fanning said. “But the Big 12, you’re playing against 22- and 23-year-olds.”

Demin added workouts to his schedule, putting on 16 pounds in the weight room and tacking on extra shooting sessions with his personal coach. He brought along BYU guard Trevin Knell and tinkered with his shot.

“Sometimes he comes forward a little too much, or his shots aren’t loaded,” Knell said, who’s also his roommate on the road.

But more than anything Knell was his sounding board as the world seemed to close in on him. By February he was plummeting in mock drafts and BYU was sputtering in the standings. It lost by almost 20 to Cincinnati and stumbled against Arizona at home. A Demin-led BYU might miss the tournament.

“He’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Knell said. “With that, it comes with self doubt. Sometimes you start overthinking things. Sometimes you kind of get emotional, right? So I’ve kind of been, I feel like, that steady rock a little bit. Like, ‘Hey, we all go through it.’”

And slowly, Demin turned the corner. The Cougars ripped off nine-straight wins and Demin’s offense stirred to life. He had 16 points against West Virginia and 13 against Arizona on the road.

Fanning kept telling him he didn’t need to be a deadly three-point shooter right away. With his added strength, he could attack the rim and create looks for his teammates. Fanning worked with young prospects like Demin before, and sometimes the shot comes last.

Demin reminded him of Washington Wizards player Deni Avdija. Fanning coached Avdija at Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the Israeli pro team. He was also 6-foot-9 and grew into his shot. Attacking the paint unlocked it.

“Especially at that age, with your body changing and now coming to a new country, playing new basketball in the Big 12 that is extremely physical,” Fanning said.

“There’s all these different things going on sometimes you’re focused on that,” he continued. “Like dude, you’re a great finisher at the rim. You’ve got great vision. You’re a complete player, while in the background you are working your a-- off on your shot.”

Demin bought into the vision.

Now it’s all come together.

Over the last month, Demin’s had games with 10 assists. He’s had games with 10 points in the paint.

Against VCU, he added shooting. He hit threes and blew by defenders. On one occasion, he attacked the paint, spun away and hit a fadeaway bucket.

“Or that one play where the guy presses up on him around half court and he just goes right by him, gets a layup. It’s like he wasn’t doing that even last week,” Fanning said with a smile. “It’s fun, it’s fun to work with guys like that.”

Because of it BYU is going to the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2011. And it has a real shot of beating three-seed Wisconsin, in no small part because Demin is playing this well.

“It’s amazing,” Knell said. “Honestly I think we are one of the hottest teams in the country. ... I feel like we can beat anybody in the country.”

As for Demin, he knows it’s all coming together. He can taste a second weekend spot in the tournament too.

“Living like a shooter, that is what KY says,” Demin said. “Step into it and show some confidence. It comes a lot from the mental part. The ones that are helping me are my teammates, trusting me no matter how many shots I missed.”

As his teammates were dancing in the locker room to the song “Pump it Up,” Demin looked around and contemplated if he could’ve led BYU to a tournament win a month ago.

“A month ago?” Demin said grinning. “I’m definitely better.”

BYU’s ceiling is too.

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