Seeing Egor front and center on the BYU media announcement reminded me that Cosic in his first year at BYU had to play on the freshman team, as at that time freshman weren't allowed to play varsity college basketball, even though he was already an accomplished basketball player from Europe before stepping foot onto the BYU campus.

Things have changed in NCAA basketball since the days of Cosic, Cosic fulfilled his childhood dream of playing in the largest basketball arena in the US (Marriot center was at that time), and became a star basketball player that won a silver medal in the Olympics and became a national sports hero in his home country and was able to open inroads for the church during the cold war that would have been close to impossible in just about any other way without his sport stardom. BYU transformed Cosic, and Cosic opened a path for thousands of eastern Europeans to gain access to being church members. You would be hard pressed to find another athlete that has had more of an impact for good in regards to the reputation of the church outside of the US than Cosic.

I am excited to see Egor Demin's basketball skills, but I am also curious to see how his experience at BYU will change him, and what good can come about from that. Andrei Kirilenko is I believe the Russian that was drafted highest in the NBA draft, but was a later round pick by the Jazz. If Egor becomes a lottery pick as many believe, he will likely become the most high profile NBA player from Russia ever, his ability to positively influence his homeland with his association with BYU is hard to measure at this point, but when looking at the influence that Cosic had, it makes me hope that Demin can have a similar positive impact. From a die hard BYU fan, it makes me want to dream big for success, not just for Demin / BYU Basketball success this year, but for the continued good will that may be felt for decades after he is done playing in a BYU jersey.

It would be pretty cool if the #3 ends up next to #11 in the rafters someday, and yes my goggles are extra blue today, but I am dreaming big.