Adapt and thrive. These are two words that fit relatively well when discussing fourth-year guard Rashawn Browne's basketball journey.

An Ontario native, Browne starred for Bill Crothers Secondary in high school, where he was a captain from 2012-14, winning a provincial title in his senior year.

Because Bill Crothers was a prep school, Browne also got the opportunity to head down to the U.S. every other weekend to play in showcase games.

"I think it was great," he says of the opportunities provided to him prior to university.

"I learned at any early age that we could compete with [teams in the states]. It was really good for the exposure part of the game."

Browne's experiences down south would ultimately come full circle, as he spent his first two years post high school playing for New Mexico State – an NCAA Division I school.

It was a unique shift for the charismatic athlete, who in previous years had gotten used to being "the guy." This time around, he took a back seat to players such as Pascal Siakam – a first round pick of the Toronto Raptors in 2016, as well as Ian Baker, who would later become the conference player of the year.

Browne redshirted his first year in 2014-15 and the following year started two contests while playing in 34 contests as a more mature baller.

"The biggest thing I learned in my first experience in the states was to think of the game more as a system and as parts instead of a whole. You've got to break it down into quarters and think you know, if I make this three, what's going to happen here and just think of it more strategically as opposed to just a kid going out and playing in the school yard."

Following the 2015-16 season, Browne opted to re-evaluate his situation. He ultimately transferred to play for California University of Pennsylvania, an NCAA Division II team. He averaged six points and three rebounds per game with the squad, however the fit just wasn't right and yet again the play-making guard had a tough choice to make regarding his basketball future.

"My first decision was to see if I wanted to continue playing basketball, because I'd say it was pretty stressful for me. But upon talking to my family, we decided that I did want to continue to play. My best opportunity was to come home."

Browne reached out to his high school coach and told him he was looking to come play university ball back in Canada. While the timing just wasn't right for an OUA team, it was for the Manitoba Bisons and head coach Kirby Schepp. The team had made a historic run to nationals in 2016-17 and were looking for a guard to complement Justus Alleyn following the graduation of A.J. Basi.

"It was kind of like it was meant to be," Browne says with a smile.

"I took my visit, I didn't necessarily know what to expect from Manitoba. I loved the visit and had a great workout with coach Srdjan [Komlenovic], who's a great shooting coach and the rest is history."

One thing that really stood out to Browne about his new head coach was the latter's ability to adapt his schemes, based on the personnel he had.

"I think coach Kirby is a coach who adjusts. He doesn't have a system and then goes and finds players for the system. He does it the exact opposite, so he'll have his players then he'll find a system that fits what he has. Last year with Justus and I, he would have Justus come off a lot of down screens and me come off a lot of ball screens and we played off each other very well."

To say the duo played off each other well would be a bit of an understatement. Alleyn won the conference scoring title, while Browne was second in the nation in assists as his primary facilitator.

"I've got Justus to thank for that," he says humbly. "He made my job really easy, just getting open and knocking down shots."

With Alleyn now graduated and playing pro, Browne knew he'd have to step up on the scoring side this season. He's done just that, as he led the squad with 15.9 points per game in the regular season while continuing to dish out the rock to the tune of 110 assists.

"Every summer when I get home from school, it's kind of like a training camp that's run by my family," he says with a chuckle.

"Grandma is in charge of meals, uncle is in charge of workouts, my grandpa is a great rebounder. We're always spending time in the gym and this year we knew I was going to have more of a scoring role, so we were just working on ways to get shots off. Once we got the footwork right of getting them off, it was more so about making them."

With a roster that also includes third-year James Wagner and fifth-year Malik Irwin – both members of the team's trip to nationals a few years back – Browne has been able to settle himself into a vocal leadership role, without stepping on anyone's toes. It's proof that his decision to come back home from the states was the right one and that the U of M was the right fit in the long run.

"I like to think of myself as the result of hearing no a lot but not giving up. There's been a lot of times in my career where I could've hung up the shoes but something about me made me keep going with it. I'm here and loving it and I'm glad I stuck with it."