BYU’s top gun has a need for speed. It’s not that Egor Demin is slow, far from it. But it’s the fact that the American game is so fast, especially at the Big 12 level, that it has knocked him off his game. The Russian phenom is in a hurry to catch up.

The freshman debuts of Demin and Finland’s Timo Saarelainen are separated by 45 years, but the challenge Saarelainen faced in 1980 still exists for Demin 2025 — speed. While Europeans are advanced in basketball fundamentals, the American game is faster and that has Demin straddling continents.

“The speed impacts both ends of the floor,” said Saarelainen, who played in 100 games at BYU between 1980-85. “The passing lanes shrink, the wide-open shots diminish, offense moves faster, defense is more difficult, and players have to work harder for what used to come easy. That, in turn, creates doubt and a loss of confidence — two bad things in a young brain.”

Demin has advanced skills, but his young brain doesn’t turn 19 until March 3. His last three games against aggressive, power-conference foes, Providence, Arizona State and Houston, have rattled his fundamentals, just as Saarelainen’s debut shook him decades before Demin was born.

The numbers don’t lie. Demin is outside of himself. The projected NBA lottery pick, who missed a couple of weeks in December with a sore knee, has made just three of his last 24 shots and has missed 13 consecutive 3-point attempts. Over his last 78 minutes of game action, Demin has 13 points and nine turnovers.

Two of the three games (Providence and Houston) resulted in blowout defeats on the road, while dozens of NBA scouts watched from the stands. Expectations are wildly high, and pressure is building. This is a game-changing time for the teen whose challenge, according to his foreign predecessor, is more mental than physical.

“The toughest part is not the physical adjustment, it’s the junk between the ears. If a coach can help with that, then you’re looking at a great coach,” Saarelainen said. “One thing to remember, he is not going to surprise anyone anymore after a dozen games. He is front and center on the radar for opponents. With that, his development must ramp up quickly and the defenses are focused on eliminating him.”

Understandably, Demin’s recent production has clouded his confidence, but it also provided a clear path forward. It may take a bit, but once he adjusts to the speed of the American game, Demin’s size and international skill set will put him back in the fast lane — which BYU (10-3, 1-1) could use sooner rather than later.

Demin’s transition will continue Tuesday against Texas Tech at the Marriott Center (7 p.m., ESPN+). Houston’s 86-55 trouncing of BYU on Saturday wasn’t all Demin’s fault, but if the Cougars are to beat Houston in the Big 12 Tournament in March, they will need a dominating Demin to pull it off.

Timo’s adjustment

Like Demin, Saarelainen arrived at BYU well-schooled in European basketball, but unlike Demin, the highly touted Finn was not the star on the team. He didn’t inherit a new head coach, and his every move wasn’t being documented by potential suitors. In addition, Saarelainen’s first Cougars roster included seniors Danny Ainge, Greg Kite, Fred Roberts, Steve Craig and Steve Trumbo.

For the 6-foot-6 newcomer, who arrived at BYU from Helsinki as a 20-year-old freshman, it took just one scrimmage to realize he wasn’t in Europe anymore.

“The altitude and the pace killed me in about three minutes. And I thought I was in shape!” he said. “Even Greg Kite beat me up the floor. What a wakeup call. But it got better quickly. I was lucky enough to have a coach who had visited some of the U.S. East Coast schools and had seen the speed. He packed it in his suitcase and hauled it to Finland. That offseason was spent gaining speed and conditioning.”

Saarelainen averaged 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 31 games during his freshman season at BYU that ended with a loss to Virginia in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. As he adjusted to the speed of the American game, his point production increased and by the time Saarelainen was a senior, he averaged 22 points and 4.5 rebounds. He was named the 1985 WAC Player of the Year and was selected by the Lakers in the fifth round of the NBA draft.

Europe vs. United States

Saarelainen played six seasons for Helsingin NMKY and won the 1983 Finish League Championship in between his sophomore and junior years at BYU.

“Typically, Euro ball tempo was slower because of the bigs, with a few exceptions like Kresimir Cosic or Arvydas Sabonis and a few others,” Saarelainen said. “A team with 7-footers tended to have an advantage because there weren’t many big guys to be found. If you came upon one, he likely moved like Mark Eaton. Teams that didn’t have a Cosic had to slow it down and wait for the giants to settle in the post.”

The contrast to what Saarelainen saw in the United States was significant — and still is.

“Here, most teams had one (or two) skyscrapers, fast and skilled, able to fill the fast-break wing — and that made for an uptempo style. If a team had a 6-10 guy run the lane, like Fred Roberts, and finish with a flush, that team was hard to beat,” Saarelainen said. “These types were also aces on defense, able to guard and eliminate shorter guys by blocking shots, grabbing rebounds, etc.”

The increased tempo also increased fan interest.

“U.S. coaches understood the value of easy baskets better than overseas. Faster tempo always produces more layups and dunks,” Saarelainen said. “In short, the toolbox here had better and shinier tools that allowed for a faster game. We had to find talent in much smaller pools as the countries didn’t have a population of 300 million, often 10 times more than any Euro nation.”

The Demin difference

Saarelainen averaged 15.3 minutes per game during his freshman year. He enjoyed the luxury of watching Ainge carry the load. Demin’s circumstances are much different. The 6-9 newcomer is making his American debut as BYU’s starting point guard in a conference considered to be among the most competitive in the country.

Fortunately for Kevin Young, Demin is getting some help with four other teammates averaging double figures, including veteran Richie Saunders, who leads the Cougars with 13 points per game. However, contending in the Big 12 and reaching the NCAA Tournament will require Demin to get up to speed and stay that way.

“It all comes with time, but today’s college players don’t have four years,” Saarelainen said. “Their time advances in weeks, not years.”

In Demin’s case, he has just one more day before the Red Raiders put his European skills to another American test.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.