The Brooklyn Nets’ fanbase eagerly awaited the eventual debut of the eighth overall pick in June’s draft, Egor Demin. On Friday night, they finally witnessed the BYU product on an NBA court for the first time (not counting summer league), and they likely enjoyed what they saw.

After missing the Nets’ first three preseason games—one against Hapoel Jerusalem and two versus the Phoenix Suns—Demin played nearly 19 minutes in the 119-114 loss against the Toronto Raptors and appeared to be worth the wait. He scored 14 points, six of which came from the charity stripe, while adding five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Given the sample size, that’s quite a statsheet, hence the feelings of the fanbase.

But Demin’s supporters aren’t the only ones happy today. His head coach is, too.

“He was excellent,” Jordi Fernandez said postgame via Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “There’s going to be things he’s going to keep working on. We’ve got to keep building him up physically to be able to sustain more minutes. … But I’m very happy with his presence, how composed he was, how he talked to his teammates, all those things. And made it look easy.”

 Demin becomes the second of Brooklyn’s rookies to be complimented on their “poise” or “composure,” which is a really great problem to have. The other rookie, of course, is Ben Saraf, who could develop quite the tandem with Demin one day.

Regardless, the evident maturity is a great sign.

But perhaps a lesser-known part of Demin’s game was on full display last night: his driving ability. The aforementioned success at the free-throw line is extremely encouraging—especially for a 19-year-old facing real NBA talent for the first time. Yet it didn’t shake him.

“I’ve been told a lot about the Raptors as one of the most physical and longest teams from the standpoint of pressure almost the whole game, and how pesky they are,” Demin said via Lewis. “I don’t want to say I was scared, but I was super aware of what to expect. But I also couldn’t understand what to expect in my first game … so I’m just happy we went through this and had this experience. It’s a huge lesson for all of us, and I can’t wait for the start of the season.” 

It was the first of many impressions, but the first is usually the most important. If Demin hasn’t won you over yet, just give it time; eventually he will. Until then, he’ll continue growing under Fernandez, potentially into the Nets’ next starting point guard.