The theme for the 2023-24 Bisons men's basketball team was evolution.
 
Every returning player (nine total) increased their minutes played per game, led by third-year shooting guard Daren Watts, who went from playing 10.8 minutes per game a year ago, to 29 minutes per game this season, while starting every contest.
 
Watts' 16.4 points per game also led No. 8 nationally ranked Manitoba, including seven 20-plus point showings. Watts also sunk more triples than any other Bison, with 45 and he led the team in free throw efficiency at 83.6 percent.
 
"I feel much more confident. I feel like the game has slowed down," noted the third-year 6'4" playmaker, who was the best scorer in Manitoba as a junior at Miles Mac (his senior year was canceled due to COVID-19).
 
"When I'm in the pick-and-roll I don't have to rush and feel like someone is going to steal the ball from me. I take my time, look around, see different options. I feel like I've become a better passer now. I feel more confident because my understanding is better and my skills are better."


 
Not far behind Watts was second-year point guard Brandt Lenz.
 
The primary backup for the nation's steals leader Mason Kraus went from 7.9 minutes per game to 14.3, doubling his assists total to 37.
 
Lenz also went from six triples a year ago to 21 this season, adding 89 total points compared to 18 a season ago. His 47.7 percent efficiency from distance led Canada West, while the Bisons finished fourth in CanWest in triples made per game (9.5), shooting at 33.9 percent overall (also fourth).
 
Lenz scored a career-high 12 points against Mount Royal on November 12, and added ten against Lethbridge on November 25. Then, against UBC Okanagan to end the regular season, he played in 39 minutes over two games.
 
Additionally, third-year three-point specialist Sam Jensen set a career-high with 17 triples and a .415 efficiency from distance (ninth in CanWest), while sparkplug guard Tito Obasoto came off the bench to increase essentially every key stat, including steals, where he tied for ninth in CanWest, with a career-high 35.
 
As a team, Manitoba averaged 9.2 steals per game, second in Canada West. Kraus paced the squad, recording the second-most steals in a season in school history, with 59. That was just one shy of Stephan Walton's program record of 60, set in 2012-13.
 
Kraus led the nation in steals for a second year in a row, and next year he'll destroy the school's all-time record, as his 146 are just six shy of Eric Garcia (2006-11) for most all-time.
 
"I think our on-ball defence is some of the best in the league. You can see it in our practices. We have drills where it's hard to score. Brandt [Lenz] too, Brandt is just sturdy, so our on-ball defence is hard to score on," said Kraus. 
 
"That was a big step for our team. We created an identity that we are very good defensively on guards. With our ball pressure, with me, Tito, Daren, if we don't reach, we're some of the best defensive guards in CanWest."
 
Speaking of defence, Bisons bigs Cieran O'Hara and Jonam Kazadi also grew as players, moving into a shared starters role following the graduation of New Zealand native Isaac Miller-Jose, who's now playing pro.
 
O'Hara, whose wing-span is close to 7'2", set a career high with 13 blocks, while his 132 points were also a personal best. He had one of the best weekends of his career to end the regular season, recording a combined 17 points, 18 rebounds and three steals against UBCO in a two-game sweep.
 
The 6'7", 240-pound Kazadi, whose evolution has been his patience, had the most efficient game in school history when he went ten-for-ten for a career high 21 points against Mount Royal in late November.
 
Kazadi added five steals in five different games for a Manitoba defence that can guard one through five and are elite in their communication on switches, resulting in matchup nightmares for the opposition.
 
"That's a really big strength of our team. We have a lot of versatile guys," said Kazadi.
 
"I feel like I can switch out on some guys and I know Cieran can switch out on almost anybody in this league. Having a bunch of guys who can guard all different positions is a big strength."


 
Manitoba's rising stars did their thing, while household starters in Kraus, Winnipeg Sea Bears draft pick Simon Hildebrandt and lone senior Wyatt Tait were up to their old tricks.
 
Kraus shot over 30 percent in six different games in the back half of the season, including a season-high 19 points against UBCO in the final game of regular season play where he didn't miss a shot in the second half, shooting 63 percent overall.
 
Hildebrandt averaged over 16 points per game once again, a year after becoming the first Bison to ever receive All-Canadian and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year honours in the same season. Over his first two campaigns, The Golden Boy has averaged 16.5 points per game, the fourth-most all-time for the Herd.
 
Hildebrandt also cemented his name in the history books when he scored 41 points against two-time CanWest champ Victoria on January 19. It was the second-most points scored by a Bison in a regular season conference game as the Herd knocked off the 12-team Canada West Playoff Tournament's No. 1 seed.
 
Tait, the longest-serving Bison on campus, once again proved why he's called The Glue Guy.
 
Known for his ability to line the box score in all areas while doing all the little things that help the team stick together, the 6'6" forward posted career highs in steals (25), blocks (21) and rebounds (133). His 49 blocks also rank seventh in school history.
 
Manitoba's collective efforts earned them a 13-7 record and the No. 4 seed in the playoff tournament hosted at IGAC.
 
As a top-four seed, the Bisons earned a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday, Feb. 22. They will face the winner of the No. 5 UBC versus No. 12 UNBC contest, and if they can get the victory there, they'll take on the winner of No. 1 ranked Victoria versus the winner of the No. 6 Regina versus No. 11 UFV play-in game.
 
Both teams that advance to the Canada West championship earn berths to U SPORTS nationals, while the third-place team can still get in with a wild card selection. Manitoba had the toughest second half schedule in the nation, giving them a slight edge when the selection process for the at-large team begins.