Every week until the Canada West Men's Basketball Playoff Tournament, Bison Sports will be sharing the proud history of the Herd's hardcourt program, featuring comments from alum from six different generations of Bisons basketball. Click here for chapter one, click here for chapter two, click here for chapter three and click here to purchase a tournament pass for the Feb.21-25, 12-team CanWest tournament at IGAC.
The late 80s and early 90s represented the next wave of household talent at the University of Manitoba. Between the 1989-90 and 1994-95 campaigns, the Bisons never had a losing record in league play, advancing to the GPAC championship in 1990 and 1991.
Head coach Rick Suffield, in his sixth season as bench boss in '89-90, had inherited a young team the year prior (veteran Paul "Bear" Bryant was the veteran in year three), steadily growing the culture amongst the group as the years progressed.
With Lakehead leaving the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) for the Ontario West in 1988-89, only four teams remained, in Winnipeg, Regina, Brandon and the Herd.
Manitoba's three rivals were all ranked in the top ten all year, making for competitive battles every week during the 12-game regular season schedule.
That season, the Bisons won just once, however a strong recruiting class showed promise, led by Oak Park standout Gregg Filmon at point guard (1988-90, 1991-92, 1993-95), as well as Mark Kalinowsky, a great shooter from Vincent Massey, and the athletic 6'6" Keon Filewich.
That season, Filmon set a program record, and also led the country with a free throw percentage of 96.3, and he was also named GPAC Rookie of the Year.
In the off-season, Suffield knew that in order to remain competitive with the top GPAC teams, including conference and national champion Brandon, more depth and talent was needed to strength an already promising group.
Cue Eric Bridgeland.
The 18-year-old out of Colorado was the stepson of former Bisons manager John Brown, and he was exactly what Suffield was looking for. A pure scorer, his addition instantly made Manitoba better.
"My step-father's family was all in Winnipeg, so it was a homecoming of sorts. I'm very close with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. It was a chance to play, too," he said.
"I had opportunities in the states but I knew I would play a lot more right away in Winnipeg and at Manitoba. But if there was no John Brown then there was no Manitoba."
Additionally, Gregg's older brother David, a former GPAC All-Star, provided a veteran presence after being away from the program for a year.
The 6'5" forward got the chance to play with his brother for the first time, earning First-Team GPAC honours that season.
"He was a huge part of that team. And he was a guy that hated to lose. He didn't care where you were from or how big you were, he was going to take you on and go at you full speed," noted Gregg of David.
"He is four years older than me, so we never played together in junior high or high school. When you have a brother that's four years older than you, he's always so much bigger and stronger than you. It was kind of unique where we ended up finding ourselves playing together. He took a year off playing for the University of Winnipeg to the University of Manitoba. We got a chance to play together. I didn't think that would ever happen."
Also returning to the Bisons was Kevin Clelland, who added toughness and rebounding, while Alex Ikejiani from Nova Scotia and Zak Hirshman from Regina became critical leaders through the years.
'Obviously it was a great rivalry'
Using an impressive blend of inside-outside play and a well-balanced roster, Manitoba advanced to the GPAC final for the first time in four seasons.
Along the way, they knocked off Winnipeg in three games, adding another chapter to the classic cross-town rivarly.
The final matchup was a thriller, with Bridgeland hitting a free throw with two seconds to play for the eventual 74-73 win.
The story going into the series, was whether Manitoba could contain Wesmen guard Burke Toews.
The senior was a back-to-back GPAC all-star, and with complementary pieces like fellow all-star John Mathieson, 6'9" Charles Sabourin and rising stars in Jeff Foreman and Rhett Turner, the Herd had their hands full.
Tasked with guarding Toews like he had all year, Bridgeland got the last laugh and Manitoba advanced. David Filmon led all Bisons with 12 points in the final game of the series.
"Winnipeg at that time was the city's team. Obviously it was a great rivalry. Burke was the golden child. He was one heck of a player. I was a freshman, and I couldn't put my hands on him, I couldn't touch him. I was always in foul trouble, and he was a great defender," recalled Bridgeland.
"I remember that Burke would always go right. I remember in that game thinking I've got to take away his right hand. In the deciding game, it was either tied or we were up by two and I remember holding the ball on the wing. I remember pump faking and driving and everyone going up in the air and landing on me. We found a way to win it."
After dispatching Winnipeg, the Bisons met powerhouse Brandon in their gym, making a statement in game one with a 100-95 win. Filewich scored 23, while Bryant added 19 in the victory.
Game two went to the Bobcats, 81-76. Manitoba led 45-36 at halftime, but a 14-4 run to open the second half helped the hosts get into a rhythm.
Four straight free throws from David Filmon, who had 14 points, made the score 78-76 for Brandon with 26 seconds to play, and Bridgeland had a chance to tie it up on a three in the dying seconds, but it rimmed out.
Kalinowsky led the Bisons with 21 points in the loss.
The major story of game three was the loss of David, who sprained his ankle early on.
All-Canadian Joey Vickery, one of the greatest players in Bobcats history, went off for 29 points in a 101-87 victory, while Filewich stepped up for Filmon, scoring 25 for the Herd.
"Keon Filewich was an absolutely incredible athlete. A phenomenal guy, very talented player who wasn't the most firy guy," said Gregg.
"My biggest recollection of that game was that Keon stepped up and was just an absolute beast. It was a great example of the next guy stepping up and elevating."
'There was no off button'
Despite the loss, the future was bright for the Bisons.
They lost Kalinowsky and David Filmon, but returned half their roster, including Bridgeland – a conference all-star and GPAC and CIAU Rookie of the Year – Bryant, Filewich, Garth Thomson, Ikejiani and Hirshman.
As the group ventured forward, they had the utmost confidence in each other, as did their head coach, who believed in the group not only as players, but as people off the court.
Suffield had a knack for getting to know his players well, and that belief and trust manifested into some incredible performances, as well as a spot in the national rankings.
Specifically, Bridgeland earned All-Canadian honours in 1990-91, while Bryant, along with Thomson were GPAC all-stars.
"He's a player's coach. He gave you a lot of confidence. I never had to worry about missing a shot, and if you look at the records, I missed more shots than probably all of the top ten scorers combined," admitted Bridgeland.
"I had a lot of freedom and he made it fun. While we had a chance to win and everything else, we still had fun. That's the central thing."
A notable win in the regular season came in game ten against the Bobcats, who went 15-3 in regular season play. Manitoba finished 9-9, but were able to hand an L to Brandon with a 100-87 victory.
The Herd's regular season record was tainted slightly with two losses at home against Regina, the team they then faced the following week in semi-final action.
That year, the Bisons went to-to-toe with sharp-shooter Marc Virgo, who set a then Cougars record with 45 three pointers in a season. That total still ranks in the top ten in program history, and Virgo was named Rookie of the Year in GPAC.
"I played the two guard position mostly. I was a shooter, a scorer. I think Bill Wedlake used to say this, Virgo's either going to shoot the three, or go all the way to the hoop and try to get a foul. That's kind of what I did to be honest. I was a high 80s foul shooter so that's easy points," noted Virgo, who later brought his talent to the Bisons.
"My game revolved a little bit around three point shooting. It's something I learned from an early age. I practiced for hours and hours. The math always made sense to me, three points instead of two, if I could get good at that. I felt I brought that to the team."
Nonetheless, Manitoba won in three, including a spirited 18 points from former UPEI Panther Winston Duncan coming off the bench.
Overall, the team's top scorer went to work, as Bridgeland put up 82 points in the series, while Bryant had 57.
Next up was Brandon, and once more, Manitoba played the underdog role.
Both games were close, with game two going to overtime, but the overall talent of the Bobcats proved to be too much.
Conference all-star, 6'9" American Steve Maslek put up 30 in game one along with 13 rebounds, while Vickery and Harvey Marshman combined for 39 in game two.
Bryant, in his last series as a Bison, scored 27 and 31 respectively, and Bridgeland had double figures in both contests.
The 1991-92 season brought with it plenty of optimism for Manitoba. With just one player graduating in Bryant, and Gregg Filmon back after a year away, plus a stellar recruiting class, the Bisons brought the noise, finishing 22-11 overall.
The Herd's overall record would be their best over the next 20 years. Despite being upset against Winnipeg in the GPAC semi-finals, the group goes down as one of Manitoba's best in the 1990s era.
Bridgeland was once again named an All-Canadian, while Filmon and Thomson earned all-star status for a program that earned national recognition during the year.
Manitoba proved they were a team to beat during the Naismith Classic in mid November, knocking off defending national champion Western during the tournament.
Bridgeland and Filmon's connection was automatic that game and all year, with the former putting up 429 points in the regular season, including 60 three pointers.
Bridgeland's 1307 career regular season points were the best for Manitoba (in recorded history) until 2018, while his 60 triples were number one until the 2009 season.
"[Bridgeland] didn't need my help. He was an unbelievable basketball player and the most competitive guy I ever played with. I don't think I would have become the player, or the person that I am now without him," said a humble Filmon.
"He pushed everybody every single day. There was no off button. He wants to come and he wants to compete. There's no such thing as a free shot. Every shot counted to him. Every drill, he wanted to win. After practice, let's play one on one and he's going to beat you. For me, playing against that every single day, it forces you to be at your best, every single day. The team sort of takes that mentality on."
On the other end, Bridgeland appreciated Filmon's poise, and his "big-pictured oriented" mentality, which helped to balance out the passionate playing style of one of the nation's elite scorers.
"I get where [Bridgeland] is coming from. I had been coached very, very well. I was very fortunate. I had a guy named Ron Hutsal and Randy Kusano as coaches. Randy was on the national championship winning team. He's a legendary coach," Filmon added.
"I had the benefit of one of the greatest coaches in Manitoba basketball and he really taught me how to be like another coach on the court. A big part of my role, I think, was making sure that the guys were always emotionally on an even keel and that we were focused on winning the game."
'You just couldn't get rid of the other team'
The 1991-92 season was also the first installment of the annual Duckworth Challenge.
The challenge was started by the late Dr. Henry E. Duckworth (president of the University of Winnipeg from 1971-81 and Chancellor of the University of Manitoba from 1986-92) in an effort to profile the intense but friendly cross-town rivalry between the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba.
The challenge started with volleyball and basketball, one game each per gender, and soccer was added in 2013. The Herd currently own an all-time record of 18 wins compared to 13 for Winnipeg in the event.
Manitoba swept the inaugural edition 4-0, including a win in men's basketball, one of many thrilling matchups between the two schools that year.
"It didn't matter if one team went on a run. One team could get 20 points, and you knew it was still going to come down to the final shot or the last couple of minutes. You just couldn't get rid of the other team," said Filmon.
"During the game, there's a hatred. There's a burning desire not to lose. I had played on the provincial team with a lot of guys that went to the University of Winnipeg. In that GPAC world, not only do you know each other from Winnipeg, but then in that GPAC world we played each other all the time. We played eight times each. It was unbelievable. You develop a familiarity."
On the Bisons end, the standout battle between the two teams that year took place during the prestigious Wesmen Classic tournament.
Manitoba controlled play from the opening tip-off and won relatively easily, 81-69. Bridgeland was named tournament MVP, while Filmon was an all-star. The victory gave Manitoba the No. 1 ranking and they were in the top five nationally for the rest of the season.
"We won the tournament as a team. That was maybe the greatest feeling that I had in my four years at Manitoba was winning at the Wesmen Classic with all these great teams, because we did it as a team," said Bridgeland.
"That's the whole point of team athletics is to figure out how to do it together."
Another notable win against the Wesmen came on November 30, 1991.
At the time, Manitoba was 5-7, following a heart-breaking 90-89 loss in overtime the night prior. A victory was needed in order to keep pace with Winnipeg in the standings, and the Herd got it done with a 79-72 win in OT.
Five Wesmen scorers put up double figures, including seven footer Norm Froemel and athletic big Jeff Foreman, who led his side with 17, but Manitoba didn't relent.
Paced by three triples in the final ten minutes by Filmon, the Herd battled back for the victory, the first of six straight to end the regular season.
"They were so good up front. They were bigger than we were and they had a really good, well-rounded team. We tended to be a little more run and gun, a little quicker, a little more explosive," noted Filmon.
"Those different styles were really interesting. We obviously knew we needed to push the pace, and we needed to score. If it was a low scoring game that played into their hands."
Manitoba finished second in GPAC in 1991-92, just in front of 10-8 Winnipeg. But the last laugh went to the Wesmen, who swept Manitoba in their gym.
Winnipeg would go on to upset the Brandon Bobcats in the final, marking the first of four straight years that the two teams squared off for the conference banner.
Remembering Big Z
Manitoba's next trip to the GPAC championship didn't come until 1998-99. But looking back, it wasn't all about the wins and losses.
The bonds formed between teammates during the 1990s era continues to this day. And you can't talk about Manitoba's teams of this era without mentioning "Big Z."
Zak Hirshman was a Regina native who played for the Bisons from 1989 to 1995. A pivotal force on the glass, Hirshman was just as beloved off the court as he was on it.
"We were boys. That was my guy. We were put together as roommates. He should have been a stand-up comic. He's one of the funniest humans alive and he could sell anything," said Bridgeland.
"He was everybody's best friend, the guy that they wanted around. He always kept things light on the floor. He was such a pleasure to have around."
It was Hirshman who was responsible for convincing lights out shooter Marc Virgo to transfer from Regina to Manitoba, where he became a conference all-star in all four of his years as a Bison, along with being a team captain for three.
His 149 career three pointers as a Bison are also the fifth-most in program history, and he netted 194 overall in university.
"Virgo was one of the best shooters that we ever had or played against. There were a lot of games where I got the attention, which I shouldn't have," noted Bridgeland, who formed a lethal back court connection with Virgo during the pair's one season together in 1992-93.
"I remember in one of our pre-season tournaments in his first year, Virgo had 30 this, 30 that and I still got the MVP. How could that be? I wanted to give it up. He was an elite shooter and he was always fun to play with, because no one could ever help off him."
"He was a piece to the puzzle," continued the Colorado native.
"We got to be great friends off the court and laugh and have fun together. He and Zak were close, so we had a lot of fun together, us three and others. He was easily one of the best shooters that I've ever played with."
Virgo and Hirshman were best friends and had known each other since they were teenagers back in Regina. They'd played high school ball at Sheldon Williams, and their chemistry and attitude helped form the identity of some of the late 90s Bisons rosters.
"Zak and I lived together when I moved to Winnipeg in the fall of 1992," recalled Virgo.
"Having my best friend here and living together, that was a really good transition for me. Everything was pretty seamless. The thing with Zak is he made such an impact on so many people. He was so beloved, he was so charismatic. He had so many connections and friends."
Hirshman embodied what it meant to be a Bison during that time. Manitoba's mid-90s rosters were filled with high-character individuals that whole-heartedly cared for each other.
"Everybody liked being around Big Z. He brought people together and he brought teams together. He was just one of those people that everybody wanted to be around. He was an absolutely fantastic teammate who worked hard in practice," said Filmon.
"He was a great passer who had high standards. He would often be the first person to lift up teammates when they were struggling to try and help them feel better about themselves.
That never changed. After basketball it was the same. He always took pride in other people being successful and being happy. He was one of those guys a lot of people would say they were always friends with and never lost touch with."
Big Z passed away suddenly in October of 2022, but his legacy lives on with the
Zak Hirshman Men's Basketball Scholarship.
The scholarship is awarded to an incoming Bison men's basketball player that displays the attributes of leadership, team play, attitude, and community involvement that Zak did while playing for the Bisons.
"We wanted people to experience what we did and what Zak did, being able to come to the U of M and play basketball. It's scholarship money to help someone that maybe doesn't have all privileges or whatever it may be to come out. That's what it was all about," said Virgo, one of many individuals who've helped raise $15,400 for the memorial scholarship fund.
"We wanted Zak's legacy to be associated with the Bisons and hard work and being that kind of team player."
'My time in Winnipeg allowed me to do a lot of things'
Not only were the Bisons of the 1990s talented on the court, they were dedicated students who've continued to lead in the work force and community, using the lessons they learned on the hard court as tools in their respective toolboxes.
"The guys I played with were amazing. A lot of friends for life. Coach Suffield back then was amazing to me, amazing to the players. My time in Winnipeg allowed me to do a lot of things," said Virgo.
"I ended up getting my commerce degree, I got an opportunity to go play in Portugal for a little while. Being here in Winnipeg and playing for the Bisons allowed me a lot of things. The things I have now like my career professionally, my Asper degree was a big part of that."
"My wife and I both graduated from the business program at the University of Manitoba. I always felt that sports and being a student-athlete just gives you such a leg up in life," added Filmon.
"That ability to compete, to make the people around you better and learn from your mistakes, the ability to keep learning and striving, it's so important to success in anything in life."
