Third-year Bisons guard Risto "Riki" Zimbakov oozes positivity. His infectious personality is evident on the basketball court and also in everyday conversation.

"It's just who I am. It's proven me well in my lifetime and I just don't know any other way to be," he says.

"I think I just try to see the world as a good place to live, which has also helped me with my stress over time. When you're able to not stress over something and see the glass as half full, then you're able to focus on things one step at a time and just get through it."

Zimbakov's optimistic view of life was also on full display as he discussed his upbringing. A native of Macedonia, he moved with his family to Canada when he was six years old.

"My mom was actually and English teacher back home, so it made the transition to Canada a lot easier. Canada has just been a great place. I like to call it my home just as much as Macedonia.

Although it's different, one thing that sticks out about Canada is how friendly everyone is and how much opportunity there is. I think that's a big reason why my family moved to Canada, is because they wanted us to have as many opportunities as we deserve. My brother and I both tried to take advantage of that and have tried to be as positive as we can."

One other thing Zimbakov and his 6'5" brother Boris have taken advantage of is basketball.

A popular sport in his home country, Riki first hit up the hard court in grade two, following in the footsteps of his dad, as well as his older brother who also played for the U of M.

"I always tried to challenge [Boris] one-on-one, but now that his knees aren't the best he doesn't want to play with me as much anymore but we'll still get into heated battles at the rim in our front yard. Basketball is such a big part of our life and it's just amazing that we get to compete with one another in a healthy manner. I think it's really brought us closer together as brothers and I looked up to him because of it."

Another person who has seen Zimbakov develop on the court over the years is Bisons 6'7" fourth-year forward James Wagner. The pair have been playing together since they were in elementary school and helped bring John Taylor their first varsity provincial title in two decades back in 2015-16, going on an impressive run that included an undefeated record in Manitoba.

"When James and I were growing up, we first played at Kirkfield Westwood, that was our community centre. We used to get blown out by teams by 60. We were just a couple of long, lanky kids who couldn't really play basketball but we had the height.

We had a bunch of great coaches growing up and really just had fun and worked hard. That championship was just the product of our hard work and always staying committed to the team and trying to get better every single day."

 
It was a no-brainer for Zimbakov — who graduated a year after Wagner — to join his long-time friend at the U of M following his time at John Taylor. The two maintain a strong friendship both on and off the court to this day.

"I think James has been really good at being like a big brother to me. He's actually not much older than I am, I think we're only a month apart, but he has that extra year of eligibility and I've always just looked up to him. I'm always asking for advice on our rides home. Just being there for me has been really big and I really can't thank him enough."

While Wagner saw time on the court immediately with Manitoba, Zimbakov has been patiently waiting for his chance to shine.

The versatile 6'3" athlete learned under the likes of Justus Alleyn and Rashawn Browne as a rookie and was primed for more minutes last season, however a wrist injury set him back.

Instead of trying to rush things, he focused on getting back healthy so that he could be at peak performance for his teammates.

"It was just an injury that had bothered me throughout the season and I re-injured it closer to Christmas time. I think the biggest thing with that for one, was getting in the gym but also allowing your body to rest up properly. I think sometimes as athletes we try to rush getting back into the court and we don't try to look at the bigger picture. That bigger picture is that if I'm not 100 percent on that court, then I'm not helping my teammates as much as I could be."

Zimbakov has been nothing short of productive in 2019-20 however, as the injury has subsided.

He's an option either starting or coming off the bench for fellow guard Keiran Zziwa and is currently averaging 22.3 minutes per game, 7.7 points per game, and a second-best 1.3 steals per game for a 5-1 Bisons squad.

Those numbers include seven combined steals in the opening week of play against UBC Okanagan, as well as 25 combined points.

"I think I showed early in the pre-season that I'm able to not only shoot but also rebound the ball and have the defensive presence," he says.

"I think it all comes down to bringing that energy on the court and even if you're on the bench also just being ready for the moment. You never know when your number is going to be called, and I think coach has been good at making sure that I know that I'm going to be coming into games and to be ready to go."

Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp agreed with Zimbakov's comments regarding his defence.

"He's given us a tremendous spark off the bench. The biggest thing has been defensively. Not only has he been in the lane and getting deflections and steals, but even his ability to guard the ball has been really, really solid."