Men's basketball forward Andre Arruda is the textbook example of a humble athlete, despite the ups and downs he's experienced on and off the court.
Take his high school career with Garden City for example. In Grade 11, he saw himself as more of a role player and was quick to pass the ball to his senior teammates, despite being named an All-Star at the Milk 4A provincial tournament.
The following offseason, his head coach Phil Penner sat him down and discussed his potential, as the two star seniors from the year before had graduated and it was Arruda's time to step up and lead.
"[Penner] said, 'it's time for you to just start playing. I know you have it in you. Work hard and you'll be fine.' So I decided to step out of my shell and start playing hard."
The results were evident, as Arruda averaged 25 points a game in his senior year while also helping the Fighting Gophers claw back from being down double digits to win the 4A provincial championship.
"It was just confidence," he says.
"All I was was a rebounder, and [Penner] just told me to start shooting the ball. All of a sudden I realized I could actually play, and that's when the love of the game really came, when I realized what I could do with it."
Both the Wesmen and Bisons were high on Arruda following his senior year, however he chose the U of M. After redshirting for a year, he got his number called for the 2013-14 season, starting in 17 of 22 games while averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. He was recognized for his work at year's end as a member of the Canada West All-Rookie team.
Once again, Arruda was selfless when discussing the honour.
"I had a full redshirt year, so I was able to play with the guys and practice and just build my confidence that way," he says calmly.
"Then when I realized it was my rookie year and there was no one else really in my position, I just went out and did what I had to do. I played ball, worked hard and it worked out for me. I wasn't scoring crazy amounts or doing anything like that, I was just doing what I had to do to help the team win."
The following year, Arruda did his part again, averaging 10.6 points despite struggling with an ankle injury and his meniscus, which he tore twice in high school.
But off the court, things weren't going as swimmingly. He was dealing with some personal matters and trying to balance the stress that comes along with that, along with maintaining his grades and managing a body that had been through some battles over the years.
Ultimately, Arruda decided it was best to part ways with the Bisons following the 2014-15 season.
"I don't think I was mentally ready to be in university. Coming from high school, I can say I never really planned to go to university. I was more of a hands-on kind of guy. But getting a scholarship to play, I was obviously going to jump on that and take the opportunity.
"I came and tried it out, but I couldn't focus on the school part. I had a lot of stuff going on at home too and I was injured. It was just a whole bunch of stuff like that going on and I just lost the love of the game, so I decided to part ways to go work."
The forward spent the next three years away from the game and school, working full-time in the shipping department for the Winnipeg International Airport, as well as in a warehouse. He continued to show his support for the school, however, going to his brother Marcel's football games while also coming out to watch the basketball teams in action.
Throughout the years, Arruda would get messages from coaches asking him to play, but he would tend to brush them aside. But that all changed last December when a friend texted him.
"For the longest time my answer [to coaches] was that I didn't want to go back to school and probably wouldn't ever. But one day, I was just sitting at work and got a message. I was frustrated and I thought, you know what, maybe I'll just give it a shot."
So, Arruda talked to men's basketball head coach Kirby Schepp and figured out what he needed to do to get eligible. First, he re-enrolled at the U of M in January, taking 18 credit hours through the winter and summer terms. He did well, and just like that, he was able to return to the Bisons for the 2018-19 season.
Schepp was pleased for him, both in terms of his academic success and his desire to finish what he started.
"[Arruda] just decided like a lot of young people that he wanted to be away from university for a while," Schepp says. "He did that for a while and then made the decision that he wanted to come back to school and we were happy for it."
The soft-spoken veteran has started all four games for Manitoba to start the season and is third in team scoring, with 14.5 points per game. He noted that there's a maturity to his game now, as he aims to help lead the Bisons back to the playoffs for the fifth year in a row.
"It's different than before, but I'm a lot smarter than I was before and just seeing the game and what I have to do. Before, I would just drive every time. Now I'm driving and kicking and passing. It just feels like my game is a lot more team-oriented."
