‘It shaped me to be resilient’

Armani Chaney was still a young man when he built up a lot of layers in a short amount of time.

The 29-year-old would be the first to say he was forced to grow up quicker than anyone would like to, which bred an unconventional career in basketball. That experience led the point guard to Winnipeg, where today he stands fully grown — not bitter, but incredibly grateful for the opportunity that lies ahead with the Sea Bears this summer.

The four-year stretch between 2019-2023 is a period in which Chaney wasn’t even playing basketball, and one that was instead marked by injury, doubt, blessings, homelessness and then hope.

“I think it shaped me to be resilient. I’m from Chicago anyway, so that’s kind of already in my blood,” Chaney said Tuesday.

“I think it just shaped me to be blessed and understanding that different things and different situations happen for different people… (and) the moments sometimes get bigger with emotions and feelings in terms of where you could be, but man, if you really did a breakdown on my story, you’ll understand that I’m very grateful for the opportunities that I have in front of me and things that I’ve accomplished.”

A torn labrum in the off-season entering his senior year at Tennessee State made for a rocky start to his final college season. Chaney also tore his meniscus near the end of that season, and without the resources to get surgery and pay for physiotherapy, he was unable to get the help he needed immediately.

Around the time he graduated, Chaney and his girlfriend at the time had his firstborn, a baby girl named Kalani. He also later had a son named Royal.

Rather than rehab his knee and chase the pro hoops dream, he moved to Nashville to be with his newborn and provide for his young family. Chaney worked three jobs at one point, delivering for United Parcel Service, being the assistant coach for a junior basketball team and the head coach of a fall league team.

He wasn’t convinced that his basketball career was over at that time, but he also had his priorities in order.

“That was my other understanding of just life in general, just how to navigate through that,” he said. “Obviously, I wanted to play basketball, but when you have a kid, you’ve got somebody else that you’ve got to make sure is straight, so I took the route of getting a job and just doing things I needed to do that were necessary for my child.”

Chaney returned to Chicago during the pandemic, but for two years, he never had a place to truly call home. He spent his non-working hours in solitude in the gym: shoot, rebound, repeat. Hours upon hours, with the hope that someone would offer him a chance to work his way back up.

Chaney was never forced to the streets, but he bounced from couch to couch before settling at a friend’s house. This wasn’t just any friend; it was someone whom Chaney felt that he could confide in and who Chaney felt would hold him accountable to continue pursuing his dream.

“The homeless part was more of me understanding that I felt like people didn’t have my back and my best interest. Obviously, I had places to go, but I think I chose the right place in terms of what I needed in my life at that moment,” he said.

“That is like the smallest part of this story, the homeless part,” Chaney added. “Obviously, it put some fire under me, but I think the journey of me not playing basketball out of college, I think that started the whole transformation. So by that time, when I was homeless, I was used to kind of going without.”

As fate would have it, Chaney’s full-time return to the game came in Canada in 2023 with the Newfoundland Rogues of the Basketball Super League, and he looked like anyone but someone who was playing for the first time in four years.

Chaney was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and a First-Team All-Star after averaging 30.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists across 25 contests, including a sensational career-high 52-point performance in the playoffs.

Stops in Austria, Turkey and Mexico followed before Chaney received a call from Sea Bears head coach and general manager Mike Raimbault about coming to Winnipeg.

“I think he’s a poised point guard. I think he’s a true point guard, as well,” said Sea Bears centre Jeremiah Tilmon Jr., who received a few well-timed alley-oops from Chaney during Tuesday’s practice session. “I was telling him that (Monday): when a guy is not in their position, if a guy is not shooting the ball, if you don’t know what’s going on, all you gotta do is just look at (Chaney). He’ll make sure he holds you accountable.”

Raimbault said Chaney has been as advertised throughout training camp.

“He’s a great person,” said Raimbault. “His character is extremely high. He’s super grateful for the opportunity to be here. He feels like he’s got a lot to prove. So some of those things stood out in terms of — he’s definitely going to be appreciative of the opportunity, and hopefully he makes the most of it.”

At 5-10, Chaney is undersized, even for someone who plays point guard. He’s also on a Sea Bears squad that is loaded at this position, but Raimbault said he will be relied upon early and often this season.

“We’re going to need him to hold down some minutes at the point guard position. I mean, he’s had some great days, he does a good job of finding other people; he’s certainly a capable scorer. Another veteran guy that really is picking up the things that we’re trying to do quickly,” said Raimbault.

“And he’s really unselfish for a guy that is definitely capable of scoring the ball.”

When Chaney arrived in Winnipeg, he called it a full-circle moment. He had attempted to latch on with the Sea Bears in previous years but was told by the past regime that he was only cut out for the practice roster.

More fuel to an already raging fire.

Chaney already plays with a chip on his shoulder, which is something that Raimbault liked when scouting him. While it might be easy to attribute his tenacious style of play to that four-year stretch, Chaney said that’s just the player he’s grown to be.

“I do agree, and I think that’s always been (me). I’m just a passionate person, passionate player, and I care about everything, even if it’s maybe wrong in that moment,” he said.

“That chip is just something that I’ve always had. I’ve been small my whole life, too. I’ve been looked over. I’ve been in plenty of different situations where I felt like I deserved better, and I didn’t get it. So, yeah, I’m always gonna have that.”

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