Maffia nearly unstoppable

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This article was published 20/02/2024 (771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The most dangerous man in Canada West men’s basketball is 6-foot and weighs 185 pounds.

He doesn’t look very imposing, but just try to stop Diego Maffia.

Many have tried to limit, double team and out-muscle the University of Victoria Vikes star guard. None have succeeded.

“I think a lot of teams try to be physical with him, but it’s tough, he’s so elusive,” said Vikes forward Elias Ralph following a Tuesday afternoon practice in advance of this week’s 12-team Canada West playoff tournament at Investors Group Athletic Centre. “I don’t think it’s worked so far.”

Maffia, now in his fourth-year player, leads the country in scoring with 26.7 points per game yet he is far from one-dimensional shooter. His wide-ranging skill set — he’s a superb ball-handler and passer to go with a remarkable shooting range — seems ideally suited to overcoming those rough tactics.

“Honestly, that’s probably everyone’s game plan,” said Maffia. “Especially last year and this year, it’s been like that for every team we play. I guess I’m used to it now. I’m kind of going into the game knowing I’m gonna get pushed and shoved.”

Maffia, named a Canada West first-team all-star for the second consecutive season Tuesday, is favoured to win the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top player in country.

He makes trouble for rival coaches and players alike.

“Maffia is the best pick-and-roll player in the country and it’s not close to be honest with you,” said Manitoba head coach Kirby Schepp, whose Bisons could meet the No. 1-ranked Vikes in Saturday’s semifinals with a quarterfinal win Thursday. “His ability to shoot the ball and shoot the ball from deep makes you commit and then they surround him with players — everyone can shoot the ball. He makes every read all over the floor, right?… He passes the ball extremely well and he can score it and shoot from anywhere.”

In 2023-24, Maffia’s averaging a career-best 5.2 assists per game while shooting at a 47.1 per cent clip from the floor, 34.2 per cent on three-pointers and 89.9 per cent from the free throw line.

“He’s a really willing passer,” added Ralph, a second-team conference all-star. “And we’re really coached to move off penetration pretty hard so I know where we want to be on the floor when he drives. So if you just get to that spot and you’re open, he’s gonna see you. He has such a great floor vision. So you have to get to those spots and you know the ball’s going to come.”

Maffia’s remarkable three-point shooting was a skill he first honed at Oak Bay High School in Victoria before joining the Vikes.

As a senior in 2019, he scored B.C. high school record of 96 points in Oak Bay’s 114-88 win over Edmonton’s Ross Sheppard High School. His day, which included 30-for-61 shooting, 15 three-pointers and a 17-for-19 performance from the free throw line, ended when he was subbed out with two minutes left.

At UVic, he has extended his shooting range and requires defensive attention immediately upon crossing the mid-court line, if not sooner. His career high was a 42-point outing against UBC last season.

“He can make your skin crawl as a coach because he takes shots sometimes that you just wouldn’t want him to take and then he hits shots like that as well,” said Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren, whose Dinos are seeded second in the tournament. “So he makes you nervous — that’s what I mean by that.

“We call them hypocrite shots… I tell you not to shoot it as a coach because that’s not really a good shot but you hit it. He’s a dynamic player. Out of a ball screen I think he’s tough and he makes other players around him better in many respects and then he’s very dangerous as a scorer. That combination I do think puts him on top.”

Despite his slender frame, Maffia said strength training in the off-season and time spent with the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Vancouver Bandits helped to prepare him for the rigours for the 2023-24 U Sports season. He’s fresher than he was almost 12 months ago when the top-ranked Vikes rolled into the national tournament only to lose in the semis.

“We’re kind of on a mission to prove that again and we want to you want to go back out there on the biggest stage and go all the way this time, so I think that kind of helps me,” said Maffia, whose team will take on the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Brandon Bobcats and Saskatchewan Huskies. “I don’t really feel anything on the court even though there’s chants from the bleachers and even (negative stuff) online sometimes. I think the people that really know me know I’m not selfish and I think that’s what really matters.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca