"A boy who came from INSEP, who never played any professional league before, he came to work, to improve, and maybe get some kind of a chance in some game," Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic said of his first impressions of Demahis when he took the reins this summer.
Demahis was a promising prospect coming out of the French national basketball academy – or Centre Federal du Basketball. He averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in the third of three seasons there. Demahis had also played for CFBB at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament in each of the previous three seasons and had suited up for France at the European championships in both the Under-16 and U18 age groups.
Many teams sought the services of Demahis when his time at CFBB had run out, though in almost all cases it was to continue playing in the youth ranks as he developed. Demahis believed Monaco's program fit his needs best.
"I chose Monaco because it was the best situation for me," Demahis said. "With all the great players, great staff, I knew I would be improving a lot this year, learning a lot, too. It was the best chance for me."
As expected, playing time was scarce early with most of his minutes coming in blowout wins over Lietkabelis Panevezys in Round 2 and Telenet Antwerp Giants in Round 3. Then in Round 4, he was called upon to help guard one of his favorite players, Milos Teodosic, in the second quarter of the game against Virtus Segafredo Bologna.
"That was surprising because, I was watching him play, so watching him play on the court, in front of me, playing against him, it was very strange," Demahis remembered. "He is even better than on TV."
Even though Demahis was showing sparks, he wasn't quite ready for big minutes in the EuroCup. However, the time spent in practice helped him grow as a player and left an impression on the coaching staff and his teammates.
"First of all, he is an incredible kid. I can barely recognize his voice," Coach Mitrovic said. "You cannot hear him. He just works. He spends entire days in the gym. He works so much, he is so diligent, so persistent, he listens to everything, and eventually the minutes he got he used them to the maximum."
When asked about his hobbies, Demahis had no answer. However, that is because as his coach noted, Demahis really does spend almost all his free time training to be as good a player as possible.
"I am always working at my game when I can. I have more time this season than before because last year had school, too, so I had to be focused on both. But this year I have more time to go to the gym, to put in the work. I do it any time I can," Demahis said. "I focus a lot on shooting. A lot. Also on the other things, but mostly shooting."
As a point guard, Demahis is well aware of the other demands of the position besides shooting. And at Monaco, he has several experienced guards to show him the ropes, though no one has been quite as helpful to the teenage prospect as Dee Bost.
"I have learned a lot already about my position, how to play point guard. Dee is giving me a lot of advice, they have been great teammates for me," Demahis explained. "Dee always told me to talk more on the court, because I am a point guard so I've got to alert my teammates what is happening on the court. He always tells me that."
Don't take it just from Demahis and his backcourt mates. All the players see what kind of kid, how hard he works and what a bright future Demahis has.
"Rudy is a good kid. I met him when I first got here, him and his family. He came from INSEP, which is a really good institution in France," forward Wilfried Yeguete offered about his teammate. "He is a hard worker who wants to learn, who wants to continue developing. I think he has shown a lot of progress throughout the whole season, getting stronger and understanding the game better. He is really helping us a lot, especially in the EuroCup.
"At this level, especially for him, being efficient and effective is what can make him get to the next level. Playing against guards like Rob Gray, Marcos Knight and Dee Bost in practice is helping him learn a lot this year, and the more he plays, the more comfortable he will get. I think that is what happened with him this year: he got more comfortable when he got more minutes in the games, and playing more will make him take better decisions during the game. I think he showed it this year. He can only go up from here."
After playing nearly 12 minutes in the regular-season finale, Demahis played nearly 15 in Round 1 of the Top 16, a blowout win over Nanterre 92. That number rose to 16:17 in the final game of the Top 16, a road win at Unicaja Malaga. In those games, Coach Mitrovic started to feel Demahis was ready for more.
"He is not a shooter, but if he is in a position to shoot, he will not hesitate to shoot the ball. So, he resonates like a basketball player. He will shoot, he will attack the basket, he does what he is supposed to do. But he practices a lot, shots will come to him, and he already is making baskets in tough moments," Mitrovic said. "When he is playing, you can see he is not afraid of these established players. He respects them as a young person should respect older people, but when it comes to the basketball part, five-on-five or one-on-one, that does not phase him."
After Monaco lost Game 1 of the quarterfinals against Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, Coach Mitrovic inserted Demahis in the starting lineup – for the first time all season – for Game 2.
"I did not really expect it," Demahis admitted. "But coach trusted me and put me on the court with all the other guys, so I took my chance and gave everything I have... I was not nervous, I was more excited because I worked a lot the whole year, so I was really happy the coach had confidence in me at this moment, in these big games."
Though he did not score in Game 2, Demahis dished 3 assists in a 5-11 third-quarter run that helped Monaco extend its lead. In Game 3, he connected on a pair of three-pointers – the second of which gave Monaco a 73-69 lead in the fourth quarter – to help Monaco reach the semifinals against Herbalife Gran Canaria. Demahis's had a +/- of plus-15 in Game 3 to lead all players. He started both games against Gran Canaria, too.
