Most times, reality isn’t the same as what is portrayed on television or in the media.

Coaches weren’t knocking down Nick Demusis’ door when he was a Mililani senior in 2009.

His phone wasn’t ringing off the hook, he wasn’t taking free flights to the mainland for official recruiting visits and his mailbox wasn’t overflowing every day he came home from school.

If basketball was to be a part of Demusis’ future, it’d be because he went out and found a place on his own, not the other way around.

After two one-year stints at different junior colleges, Demusis, a 2009 Mililani alumnus, has settled in at Whittier, a Division III school in California.

Left off the Honolulu Star-Bulletin Fab 15 list as a senior in high school, Demusis is the Poets’ leading scorer, averaging 17.7 points a game through Whittier’s first 11 contests.

Demusis transferred from a JC in Montana last spring but just missed the deadline, forcing him to sit out a year for the second time in college.

Able to play again, Demusis is making the most of his third opportunity.

"Luckily I found this school and get to do what I love to do," the 6-foot-4 scoring forward said. "It does feel good because it wasn’t easy. I’ve seen so many different things and have so many different obstacles that I’ve had to go through that it has helped me grow as a player and as a person."

Demusis didn’t have the grades to go to a Division I college out of high school, so he elected to play a season at Cypress College.

He took the following year off to return home to help his mother take care of his ailing grandmother.

Once she returned to health, mother and son sent out tapes to different schools once again and eventually Demusis got an offer to play at Miles C.C. in Montana.

"I did the same thing, sent out some tapes and the next day, that school (in Montana) called me," Demusis. "They paid for my schooling and, like, my room and board and stuff and we just had to pay for a meal plan, so it was a good place to go."

He was eligible to play one season before again looking for another school to play for.

Without any serious interest, Demusis again had to send out tapes and basically market himself in order to find some type of opportunity.

Whittier was one of the schools he sent a tape to, and the Poets decided to give him a shot, but by the time the decision was made, he was ineligible to play last season.

He couldn’t practice with the team, but instead watched from the stands, where he began to get to know the players.

Once the season was over, he was eligible to practice with the team, and joined them on a summer trip to Spain, where they played four games against various professional teams.

"I loved it," he said. "We went 4-0 and played against some good teams and it was just fun, man."

Three years after failing to generate much interest from college coaches, Demusis was balling against professional teams in Europe.

Now he’s a standout player for the Poets, who have won six of nine heading into the meat of conference play in the Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Conference.

He’s got one year of eligibility left, and as well as he’s done traveling from place to place, he’s not looking to move to yet another school.

"No, I’m good on that," he said. "This is the last spot."