Crafty Kiwi leading Bisons up national rankings

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This article was published 15/12/2022 (1366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s basketball team can enjoy the holiday break knowing they’re ranked eighth in the nation thanks to their 7-1 record.

A big reason for their early success has been the return of their big man from New Zealand, Isaac Miller-Jose.

The 6-8 forward was deemed ineligible to play last season as he suited up for a professional team back home, the Wellington Saints, in a tournament when the U Sports season was cancelled owing to the pandemic. It was an amateur contract, meaning Miller-Jose wasn’t paid, and there were NCAA players involved that had permission to participate. With that, Miller-Jose thought he was in the clear and so did the U of M. A rival Canada West school raised a fuss over it and the conference suspended Miller-Jose for the 2021-2022 season.

The Bisons finished the year in 10th place in Canada West with a disappointing 7-9 record.

“I didn’t think there was any issues with eligibility but apparently there’s a very specific rule that applies to basketball,” Miller-Jose told the Free Press on Thursday.

“It’s a weird rule and it’s probably outdated. It’s just unfortunate I didn’t know about it and the communication didn’t really get back to me about it. We appealed the decision a couple times but the appeals got rejected because it was technically my responsibility to be aware of the eligibility rules. It was unfortunate.”

Now that Miller-Jose is back on the court for his fifth and final season, the Bisons are a different team. They’re a young group as they lost some key veterans from last season in guard Keiran Zziwa and forwards James Wagner and Cameron O’Hara, but Miller-Jose has stepped up to soften the blow. He’s averaging career highs across the board with 6.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. The numbers, however, don’t tell the full story as Miller-Jose’s bread and butter is his defence.

The Herd surrender a league-low 69.9 points per game.

“He’s one of the best defensive players in the country,” said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp. “He is, without question, the anchor of our defence. The strength of him is his ability to switch and guard every position, one through five, on the floor… And he contributes offensively knocking down the odd jumper and with put backs and things like that. He’s been a huge part of what we do.”

Miller-Jose has come a long way from when Schepp first heard about him. Schepp has coaching tutorial videos on YouTube that have generated thousands of views. It has led to coaches from around the world reaching out to him via email on a weekly basis. One of the coaches to message Schepp was Miller-Jose’s high school coach. Miller-Jose didn’t start playing basketball until Grade 11, but his size and athleticism made him an intriguing prospect.

“We went back and forth and (the coach) said I have some players who are pretty talented players who are looking to play. And of course, we get lots of these and most of them aren’t good enough or kids you’re not interested in,” said Schepp. “He listed off a 5-11 guard, a 6-1 guard, and a six-foot guard, and then the last person he listed, he said ‘I have a 6-8 kid who’s the New Zealand national high jump champion.’ And I was like ‘Oh really?’”

To make it even better, Miller-Jose also came with a Canadian passport as his mother grew up near Toronto. Miller-Jose was raw at the time, but Schepp was sold. After several FaceTime calls, Miller-Jose was sold, too.

Schepp and the Bisons had to take their time with Miller-Jose to help him develop, but the investment paid off. The Kiwi hopes to play professionally next year, but before he pursues that, he wants to lead the Herd on a deep playoff run.

“I didn’t have all the technical skills that I have now. Seeing that development has been super satisfying and even building relationships with the people I have here is also very meaningful to me,” said Miller-Jose.

“Even though Winnipeg is arguably a tough place to live for me — it’s cold, it’s dry, it’s just very different from home — I think it’ll have a special meaning to me for the rest of my life.”

The Bisons play their first game after the break on the road on Jan. 6 against the UNBC Timberwolves. The U of M’s women’s team is 0-8 and also returns to action that night against UNBC.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31