Order on the court A bit short in stature, but possessing a coach’s instincts on the hardwood, point guard Shawn Maranan no longer lacks confidence and is leading the U of W Wesmen to their first national championship in three decades By: Mike Sawatzky Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023

It was 2018 and Shawn Maranan couldn’t seem to catch a break.

Shortly after graduating from Sisler High School, where he had been a star guard for the Spartans, he took a job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car detailing vehicles for pickup at the airport.

His work shift — from 1:30 to 10 p.m. — meant no social life, little free time and almost no basketball. For someone who had devoted most of his spare time during his school years to the game, Maranan struggled with the void in his life.

“Every day I was fighting the mental side of things,” he remembers. “I would always just (tell) myself, ‘I should be playing. I should be playing basketball and staying in shape.’ That was my thought process. I just thought I should be elsewhere right now.”

That elsewhere almost became the Philippines, the basketball-mad country where his dad Ruel and mom Lorna were born. Just before the end of Grade 12, Maranan had three scholarship offers from Filipino schools, including one from Adamson University in Manilla. He went for a visit and participated in three workouts before he knew it wasn’t for him.

A Winnipegger by birth, he was uncomfortable with the crowds and the unrelenting heat of the big city and decided to come home.

The trouble was, Canadian university programs didn’t seem to have even mild interest in a five-foot-seven point guard.

“Coming out of high school I thought I was good enough to play at the next level but I had no looks, no offers, nowhere to play,” says Maranan. “That’s one thing — I didn’t really reach out to anyone… I’m shy. I’m a quiet person, so I guess maybe that played a factor.”

Fortunately, the introvert had solid support from others in his corner.

Ruel, his mentor and coach since introducing his son to the game at 16 months, his former Sisler Spartans coach Scott Martin and high school buddies, including U of W shooting guard Don Dayrit, all kept the faith.

Growing up, Dayrit and Maranan seemed to always have a basketball with them. They dribbled on the way to school and when they were hanging out in Maranan’s basement.

Hoop talk was constant; the basketball seemed as though it was an appendage.

“He has a natural game, a natural feel for the basketball and, on top of that, he also watches a ton of basketball,” says Dayrit, who graduated from the U of W in 2022.

“The way that his skill level is now, you can definitely tell that he watches basketball more than the average person. He studies the game very well. He would pick something up watching a game, try it out at the next practice and it’s like, ‘Oh, it works. Let’s keep doing that.’”

“He has a natural game, a natural feel for the basketball and, on top of that, he also watches a ton of basketball.”–Don Dayrit

Then in April 2019, Wesmen coach Mike Raimbault reached out, asking Maranan to come out for an informal workout. Despite some less-than-ideal conditioning, his speed and instincts were evident. One workout turned into a followup invite for a scrimmage against high-level players.

“Coach shot me a message and asked me if I wanted to suit up that night, and I think that was the moment I was like, ‘Maybe this is my shot. Maybe this is an opportunity to be a part of the team,’” says Maranan.

“From there, I just continued to show up to workouts. Whenever Coach Mike wanted me in here, I was always always in here.”

Soon after, it was suggested Maranan enrol for the 2019 fall semester at U of W and he attended training camp as a walk-on. His progress was steady but unspectacular. He remained in an understudy role — “as the backup to the backup point guard,” he says — on a veteran-laden team.

“I thought he had the ability to lead a team at his position and be really, really effective,” says Raimbault. “I mean, it was evident right away that defensively he was able to put some pressure on the ball and be disruptive and that was his primary role his first year. It didn’t take long to see that he’s got a pretty good command of the ball and spacing and understanding where people need to be and things that the team needs to do.”

Maranan wasn’t a starter as a rookie, averaging 1.5 points and one assist per game. Unwilling to take three-point shots with any frequency, opponents often left him unguarded on the perimeter.

“It’s a challenge to say, ‘Hey, are you, as a young guy, ready to take the responsibility of shooting the shot?’” says Raimbault, adding self-confidence — or a lack thereof — is often the only thing holding someone back from making those plays.

After spending his whole career deferring to teammates, Maranan could no longer resist calls to shoot more.

As a rookie, he hit four of 17 three-point attempts while averaging 12.8 minutes of playing time. As a sophomore, finally granted a scholarship, he went 22-for-62 from behind the arc while averaging 10.8 points, 3.6 assists and 34.4 minutes per game.

“Sometimes I get caught up in that little predicament, especially when I was younger,” says Maranan. “I would always just try to get guys involved. Scott Martin would always yell at me to shoot the ball. But my thought process at the time was just, I always felt like my teammates could get a better shot.”

As a third-year player in 2022-23, a more diverse offensive skill set started to flash: he went 49-for-131 from the three-point line while averaging 14.3 points and 33.8 minutes per game.

His average of 7.1 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.2 led all Canada West players, his .859 free-throw percentage was sixth and his 2.2 steals per game were seventh.

The 22 year old was subsequently voted a second-team conference all-star and now he’s leading the Wesmen to their first national championship appearance since 1993-94. Winnipeg faces the No. 2-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees Friday afternoon.

“I knew he could do it, but big-time like this, I’m very surprised,” says Ruel Maranan, who still runs the Blizzards club his son played for in his formative years. “I’m amazed. So amazed, but I know he works hard.”

Maranan has always wanted to be defined as a pure point guard, the ultimate distributor and team guy, but he has evolved into an even more well-rounded performer.

“He not only knows what he’s supposed to be doing, he knows what all the other guys are supposed to be doing,” says Martin, now the head men’s basketball coach at Canadian Mennonite University.

“He has that conceptual understanding, kind of as a coach. And then he has always had the skills and the quickness that goes with that. The combination makes him very good.”

“He has that conceptual understanding, kind of as a coach. And then he has always had the skills and the quickness that goes with that. The combination makes him very good.”–Scott Martin, former coach

Maranan also seems to have no fear of tangling with the bigger bodies in the paint, rarely getting blocked.

“Well, he spent his whole life being (five-foot-seven) so he knows when (to) and when not to attack and how to get a shot off against anybody,” says teammate Emmanuel Thomas. “But the one thing about it is he’s fearless.”

The level of trust Maranan has with Raimbault has reached another level this season. During the heat and confusion of a game, the two communicate with hand signals, nods or quick, almost imperceptible, verbal cues.

“I think his ability to sort of see the game with a similar perspective to mine — (he) and I work pretty well together now — and he’s sort of garnered more and more responsibilities in terms of play-calling and reading defences and putting people in position,” says Raimbault.

“I think his ability to sort of see the game with a similar perspective to mine — (he) and I work pretty well together now — and he’s sort of garnered more and more responsibilities in terms of play-calling and reading defences and putting people in position.”–Wesmen coach Mike Raimbault

“That’s certainly been beneficial in the last couple of games, when I’m not sure the guys can hear me all that much during the course of play.”

During timeouts, Maranan’s influence can be more overt. In the conference semifinal against Manitoba on Feb. 25, he insisted the Wesmen not foul in the last minute of the close game, anticipating a defensive stop instead. The call proved to be a good one, and the Wesmen held on for a 73-70 win.

“I think the number of times, even late last year and certainly throughout this year, where we’ll look at each other and we’ll be thinking the same thing and he’ll call something and I’ll agree with what he’s decided,” says Raimbault.

“Or vice versa. I’m calling something and he’s going, ‘Yeah, that sounds right.’”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Mike Sawatzky
Reporter

Mike has been working on the Free Press sports desk since 2003.

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