Biography
Bio Updated 4/17/18 . . .
Quick Facts: Marketing major at Eastern, and currently has a 3.31 grade point average at EWU. Was nominated for Academic All-American honors and has won three previous Big Sky All-Academic honors. Born March 31, 1995, in Lutsk, Ukraine. He was less than 2 years old when his father, a truck driver, died in an accident. Their mother moved them to Federal Way five years later to be closer to family. His older brother, Dima, and his mother, Lyudmila, helped raise Bogdan, while also caring for his grandmother. Born with a gap in his upper jaw, he has had multiple surgeries after moving to the United States, included transferring bone from his hip. He wears a size 14 1/2 shoe. His name is pronounced “Bawg-dun Bliz-nook.”
Portsmouth Invitational: Helping improve his chances to play professionally, Bliznyuk averaged 15.3 points and made half his shots in three games at the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Basketball Tournament on April 12-14. Although he wasn’t chosen to the all-tournament team, he sank 18-of-36 shots from the field and scored a total of 46 points to rank 11th in the tournament. He also sank all six of his free throws to lead the tourney, and averaged 2.0 steals (second), and 3.3 assists (15th). In addition, he contributed 4.3 rebounds and made 4-of-10 3-pointers among the 64 players who were invited. The team he played on (Roger Brown’s) was 1-2, and he had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in a victory in the squad’s final game. In his first game he had 14/3/1/2, and his second outing he had 17/4/4/2 on 8-of-11 shooting from the field.
NABC All-Star Game: Bliznyuk scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the Reese’s College All-Star Game on March 30. He was one of just 20 players in the nation invited to play in the prestigious game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas – site of the NCAA Division I “Final Four.” Bliznyuk started and led his West squad to a 98-94 victory over the East in last Friday’s all-star game, which is presented annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He also finished the game with three rebounds and a pair of steals, and made four of his last five shots. He had two points in the first half, then scored three in an 11-0 run that turned a 63-59 deficit into a seven-point advantage with 10 minutes left in the game. The West never trailed again, as Bliznyuk made baskets at the 7:08, 6:00 and 2:09 marks to help preserve the lead.
All-America Honors: Bliznyuk earned his highest honor to date on March 27, 2018, joining a quartet of fellow Eastern men’s basketball players to be selected to the Associated Press All-America team when he was chosen as an honorable mention selection. He joins Alvin Snow (2004), Rodney Stuckey (2006 & 2007), Tyler Harvey (2015) and Jacob Wiley (2017) as NCAA Division I All-America selections. All of the previous honors won have also been honorable mention.
NABC All-District 6 Honors: Bliznyuk will become the first Eastern player to ever play in the Reese’s College All-Star Game. The all-star game takes place Friday (Nov. 30) and is hosted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches at the Alamodome, site of the Final Four. The game will begin at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, and will be televised by the CBS Sports Network. Bliznyuk will play on the West squad coached by Joe Jones of Boston University. Jones’ brother, James Jones of Yale, will be the head coach of the East team.
NABC All-District 6 Honors: On the same day as his fourth-straight appearance in a national postseason basketball tournament, Bliznyuk repeated as a National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 6 selection announced March 13, 2018. Bliznyuk has a first team pick after earning second team accolades the year before. A total of seven Big Sky Conference players were among the 10 players honored in District 6. His honor was the ninth all-district honor won by an Eagle, with Rodney Stuckey the first in 2006 and 2007 when he earned back-to-back first team accolades. Tyler Harvey and Venky Jois were also each honored twice. Eastern has now been honored each of the past five seasons, including teams which have advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament and CBI Tournaments in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Big Sky MVP: Bliznyuk has joined the short list -- with the likes of Alvin Snow, Rodney Stuckey and Jacob Wiley – when he was honored March 5 as the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player. He was also one of four unanimous first-team all-league selections in the voting by the league’s head coaches. He is the second-straight Eastern player to win the honor, with Wiley earning it a year ago after a record-breaking senior season. Previously, Stuckey won in 2006 and Alvin Snow was the initial Eagle honored in 2004. Eastern has been a member of the league for 31 years now.
EWU Unprecedented Success: Bliznyuk and fellow senior Sir Washington ended their careers as the winningest players in EWU’s 35-year history as a member of NCAA Division I. Eastern won 86 games overall and 50 in the Big Sky Conference in the past four seasons. Washington redshirted in the 2013-14 season, then they both played as freshmen in 2014-15. Eastern won 26, 18, 22 and 20 games since then for the best four-year stretch in EWU’s Division I history, and most since winning 106 from 1942-43 to 1945-46. The Eagles have had Big Sky Conference win totals of 14, 10, 13 and 13 since Washington and Bliznyuk were freshman – the best four-game stretch in 31 seasons as a member of the Big Sky. Former Eagle Felix Von Hofe was formerly the winningest Eagle with 81 overall wins and 47 league wins from 2013-14 through 2016-17.
National Tournament Experience: Leading Eastern to national postseason tournaments in each of his four seasons, Bliznyuk played in EWU’s 2015 NCAA Tournament game versus Georgetown, as well as four other national postseason games. He averaged 19.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists in those five games, while making 33-of-69 shots overall (47.8 percent), 7-of-17 from the 3-point stripe (41.2 percent) and 25-of-29 free throws (92.6 percent). Eastern lost to 22nd-ranked and fourth-seeded Georgetown 84-74 in the NCAA Tournament, with Bliznyuk finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists after earning Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors.
Big Sky Tournament Records: En route to breaking a total of nine Big Sky Conference Tournament records in his career, Bliznyuk scored 82 points in three 2018 tournament games, making 31-of-46 shots overall (67.4 percent), 6-of-8 from the 3-point stripe and 14-of-18 free throws. His points and field goals made were Big Sky single tournament records as he was named to the All-Tournament team. He also set Big Sky Tournament career records for games played (10, 7-3 record), minutes (333), points (193), field goals (72) and field goals attempted (126), as well as fouls (24) and turnovers (30). He shattered the previous scoring record of 165 set by current Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak from Montana from 1983-86. In the 10 tournament games he played, Bliznyuk averaged 19.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Besides his 32 points against Southern Utah in the semifinals and 35 points against Portland State in the quarterfinals in 2018, he scored 32 points with eight rebounds in the 2017 semifinals versus Weber State, and had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the quarterfinals against Sac State.
Big Sky Conference All-Time Leading Scorer: Bliznyuk finished with 2,169 career points in 138 career games, passing the record of 2,102 set by Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho in three seasons from 1991-94. Bliznyuk achieved the record on March 9 in a 32-point effort in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament. One game earlier in the quarterfinals, he scored 35 and passed Weber State's Jeremy Senglin with 2,078 from 2013-17. Bliznyuk is just the fifth player in the 55-year history of the league to hit the 2,000-point mark and now he stands above them all. “It’s definitely an honor and there have been a lot of great players in this conference,” said Bliznyuk after the record fell. Interestingly, Eastern women's player Delaney Hodgins became just the fourth player in the 29-year history of women's basketball in the Big Sky to hit 2,000 points when she scored 30 versus Weber State on Feb. 22. She had 37 on Feb. 28 versus Southern Utah and a Big Sky and EWU record 46 two days later at Northern Arizona, and finished with 2,120 in her career to also rank third all-time in the league (29 years). In a 32-point effort versus Southern Utah on March 1, he passed current Utah head coach Larry Krystokowiak from Montana with 2,017 points from 1982-85 and Bruce Collins from Weber State with 2,019 from 1976-80. He hit the 2K mark in EWU’s 74-69 road win at Idaho State on Feb. 24 when he scored a pair of baskets in the first 3:08 of the game to help EWU open an early 9-2 lead. His 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining gave Eastern the lead for good. His rise to the top was breathtaking, and it took him just 10 minutes against Montana on Feb. 15 to move from No. 9 to No. 6. He passed Steve Conner from Boise State with 1,927 from 1974-78, followed by No. 7 Steve Hayes from Idaho State with 1,933 from 1973-77, No. 6 Damian Lillard from Weber State with 1,934 from 2008-12 and eventually tied No. 5 Tanoka Beard with 1,944 from 1989-93. With 40 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 1, Bliznyuk moved up to ninth in league history as he passed Montana State’s Nate Holmstadt with 1,864 points from 1995-99. Bliznyuk moved up four spots on the Big Sky list against North Dakota on Jan. 25 to 11th in the 55-year history of the Big Sky, then moved into 10th one game later. Besides passing his former teammate Venky Jois with 1,803 from 2013-16, Bliznyuk passed the 1,810 points by Jim Potter from Idaho State from 1992-95, the 1,819 by Donn Holston from Idaho State from 1984-87, the 1,827 by Michael Ray Richardson from Montana from 1984-87 and the 1,841 by Tom Domako from Montana State from 1985-88.
EWU Scoring Record: Earlier in the season, Bliznyuk broke the previous school record of 1,803 points set by Venky Jois (2013-16). Bliznyuk broke the school record on Jan. 25 in a 95-71 victory at home versus North Dakota with a 3-pointer barely a minute into the game to give EWU a 7-2 lead, which ballooned to 30-8. On EWU’s all-time listings, Ron Cox had 1,741 points from 1974-77 and held the school record for 39 years – about 14,300 days – until broken by Jois on March 3, 2016 in an Eagle loss. Thus, Jois owned the record for just 693 days. Against San Francisco on Dec. 7, Bliznyuk passed Irv Leifer (1,550 from 1942-47), who held the Eastern record for 30 years after playing for EWU from 1942-47. He then passed the 1,564 points of his former teammate Tyler Harvey (2013-15). Previously, Bliznyuk passed 10-year NBA veteran Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2006-07) in EWU’s first game of the season, and then Dave Hayden (1,461 points from 1970-73) against Washington.
Other School Records: Not only did Bogdan Bliznyuk shatter EWU’s career scoring record, but he set the single season record; he broke an all-time EWU free throw record held by a former 10-year NBA veteran; set another mark for field goal attempts held for 45 years; and broke the school’s all-time field goals record that had lasted 41 years. He established a total of 16 EWU records, as well as one NCAA mark (plus another un-recognized NCAA first), three Big Sky all-time marks and nine Big Sky Conference Tournament records. In the final minute of the final game of his 138-game career, Bliznyuk broke set a school record for single season points with 741 and tied another with his 265th field goal of the season. En route to scoring 27 points in a loss to Utah Valley on March 13 in the College Basketball Invitational, Bliznyuk tied EWU’s single season scoring record with 50 seconds left, then broke it with a 3-pointer on the last shot of his illustrious career with 20 ticks remaining. His 741 points as a senior ranks sixth in league history and broke the previous school record of 738 set three years ago by Tyler Harvey. Less than two weeks before that, Bliznyuk broke the 41-year-old record for field goals in EWU’s 74-51 win over Southern Utah on March 1. He finished with 776, bettering the 729 Ron Cox had from 1974-77. With 467 free throws made in his career, Bliznyuk also broke the record of 386 held by Rodney Stuckey, who played a total of 10 years with the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers in the NBA. Bliznyuk set the record when he was 13-of-13 from the line against Portland State on Jan. 4, and also made 16-of-16 versus Northern Arizona on Jan. 18 (Harvey holds the school and Big Sky records with a 20-for-20 performance). Bliznyuk currently finished ranked third in school history with 84.0 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line, and his season percentage of 90.2 was a school record. Bliznyuk had a school-record 1,553 field goal attempts, breaking the 45-year record on Jan. 18 against NAU when he moved past the 1,286 Dave Hayden had from 1970-73. In addition, Bliznyuk played in 138 games to surpass the previous record of 128 set by his former teammate Felix Von Hofe from 2014-17, and his 4,272 total minutes passed the record of 3,927 previously held by Venky Jois (2013-16). Von Hofe, now living back in Melbourne, Australia, was at EWU games on Jan. 25 and 27. Bliznyuk is ranked in the top 10 in school history in several other categories, and against Providence on Dec. 20 moved passed Eagle legend and former Big Sky MVP Alvin Snow (2015-17) into seventh in assists (Snow had 318 and Bliznyuk finished with 414 to rank third all-time at EWU. In addition, Bliznyuk closed his career second in free throws attempted (556), fifth in rebounds (831), fifth in steals (126), eighth in career scoring average (15.72), eighth in 3-pointers made (150), ninth in 3-pointers attempted (397) and 111th in blocked shots (55).
NCAA Free Throw Record: A record more than two months in the making, Bliznyuk set a new NCAA Division I single season record for single season consecutive free throws made on March 3 in EWU’s regular season finale against Northern Arizona at Reese Court. Bliznyuk made all six of his free throws, including a pressure-packed, record-breaking pair with 3:46 left in the Senior Day game to give him 74 and break the NCAA Division I single season record of 73 set by Gary Buchanan from Villanova over a 21-game stretch in the 2000-01 season. Bliznyuk made his first three against Portland State on March 8, but missed to end the streak at 77 (18-game span). The Big Sky Conference MVP was 78-of-79 during conference play, but came up short of the NCAA career record of 85-straight free throws between Feb. 15, 2001, and Jan. 18, 2003, by Darnell Archey from Butler during a 57-game stretch.
Triple-Double History: Bliznyuk had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16, 2016, for the first triple-double in school history. Plus, he had the lone triple-double in school history as a sophomore. On nine occasions an Eastern player has flirted with a triple-double (within a combined total of three rebounds and/or assists), including four by Bliznyuk, three by Drew Brandon and one each by Rodney Stuckey and Justin Crosgile.
More Career Milestones: He had two performances in his 138-game career of at least 40 points, 13 with at least 30, 44 with at least 20 and 100 scoring in double figures, including the school record scoring total of 45 set as a junior. He had 10 or more rebounds 20 times and double figures in assists on three occasions, with 21 total double-doubles (17-4 record). In those 136 games, he has led Eastern in scoring in 50 games, assists in 55, rebounds in 37, steals in 41 and blocked shots on 20 occasions.
2017-18 Honors: En route to earning honorable mention All-America honors from Associated Press, Bliznyuk was a first team NABC All-District 6 selection, earned Big Sky Conference MVP and was a unanimous first team All-Big Sky selection. In addition, Bliznyuk was a third team All-Mid Major selection from CollegeSportsMadness.com. He was honored a school record five times by the league as Ready Nutrition Player of the Week. He won the award seven ties in his career to equal the EWU record of seven set by 10-year NBA standout Rodney Stuckey, who was had Eastern’s previous season record after winning four times in the 2005-06 season. His fifth honor came on March 5 after setting a NCAA Division I record and moving up to third on the Big Sky Conference all-time men’s basketball scoring chart in a regular season-ending home sweep. He had double-doubles in both games in EWU’s 74-51 victory over Southern Utah and an 85-68 win over Northern Arizona. He averaged 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists, while making all nine of his free throws, 17-of-30 shots overall (56.7 percent) and 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) from the 3-point arc. Bliznyuk set a new NCAA Division I single season record for consecutive free throws made when he finished with 15 points and 10 assists versus NAU on March 3. One game earlier, he moved up two spots to third in BSC history by finishing with 32 points and a career-high 15 rebounds versus SUU. His fourth honor came when he hit big late-game shots in Eastern’s first road sweep in two years and went over the 2,000-point mark in his career. His 3-pointer with 1:31 left against Idaho State on Feb. 24 gave Eastern the lead for good in the 74-69 win, and his two free throws with five seconds left one game earlier clinched a 75-70 victory over WSU to snap the nine-game winning streak of the Wildcats. Against WSU, Bliznyuk made 11-of-21 shots to finish with 27 points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Versus ISU, he made 8-of-14 shots from the field and finished with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. He hit the 2K mark at ISU when he scored a pair of baskets in the first 3:08 of the game to help EWU open an early 9-2 lead. Bliznyuk has honored by the Big Sky for the third time after leading EWU’s home sweep over Montana (Feb. 15) and Montana State (Feb. 17). Bliznyuk made 8-of-13 shots to finish with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 74-65 victory over UM to snap the Grizzlies’ 13-game winning streak. He then had a near triple-double in an 84-79 win over Montana State, finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists while making 9-of-17 from the field and all nine of his free throws. He earned his second POW honor of the season on Jan. 29. On a record-setting week when he became the school’s men’s basketball career scoring leader while also climbing five spots into the top 10 on the Big Sky Conference scoring chart, he led the Eagles to a weekend sweep over North Dakota (95-71) and Northern Colorado (67-65). He averaged 27.0 points on a sizzling 65.7 shooting percentage (23-of-35) from the floor, and also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per outing. On Jan. 1, Bliznyuk was one of five players in the league named by HoopsHD.com to its mid-season All-Big Sky team. He was also selected on Dec. 19 as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after a 30-point effort in an overtime loss at Wyoming and a near triple-double in a 28-point victory over CSUN. In two games he averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. On Nov. 8, Bliznyuk was selected to the Lou Henson Award preseason Watch List by Colllegeinsider.com. The award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player, and the initial watch list featured 51 players from across the country.
Shantay Legans Comments: “It’s Bogdan’s show. He takes what the defenses give him and doesn’t force shots. If you have a superstar willing to make the extra pass instead of trying to get to 2,000 and break the Big Sky scoring record, he knows the game is going to come to him. His teammates have so much trust in him and get him the ball when he’s open. He’s doing a great job of facilitating, and he gets guys open shots. He is exactly what a player and student should be. He’s unbelievable. He’s great.”
On Bliznyuk’s Records: “He’s established his legacy not just in the Big Sky or at Eastern, but in the NCAA as well. I don’t think his free throw record will be ever be broken. As a coach you understand what we just witnessed a little bit, but you have to keep moving on and keep moving forward. But it has been a tremendous season for Bogdan.”
On MVP Honor: “I think we have the best player in the league, and when you have a player like that you have a chance to win. He’s the best player in the league hands down. He does everything for us – scoring, rebounds and assists. He just does so much. He’s a quiet leader who leads by example, and he’s just mentally tough. He thinks the game, so he’s like a coach out there. I don’t think anything ever fazes him. I’ve only seen him rattled a couple of times in his career, and that had to do with us not executing as a team and not because he was missing shots or something else individually. Everything about him is even-keeled, and it’s been fun to coach him.”
On Bliznyuk’s Free Throw Record: “It's amazing what he's done and it's a cool streak. That's a hard record to beat – I don't think Bogdan's new mark will be beaten. I think he'll keep going and I don't think he'll miss again in his career. It was great for him to be able to break it at home in his last game at home. It's something he's going to hold and remember a long time. To be honest, I don’t know if Bogdan knew anything about it unless one of his teammates told him. It’s amazing what he’s done. He shoots free throws and misses one in practice, and it’s like, ‘oh my gosh, he missed one.’ I actually played with Gary Buchanan in Europe, and he was actually really excited to own that record.”
On Bliznyuk’s Scoring Record: “His historic accomplishment is a true testament to his character, drive and work ethic. And that’s not to mention he is also a great student, with a 3.31 GPA. As our team's captain, he is a great role model and ambassador for the EWU men's basketball program and our University. I couldn't be more proud.”
On Bliznyuk: “He comes out and works hard every day, is the last guy in the gym and always encourages his teammates. I haven’t ever heard him say anything negative toward another player – he’s always uplifting. We have freshmen and sophomores who have seen how he’s done it. He’s had some great mentors along the way and he’s taken things from everybody, and now he’s given back to all his teammates.”
On Bliznyuk Being a Coach on the Floor: “It makes it easy, especially for my first year. I told him, ‘Thank you for getting us this job, because if you weren’t so good for four years I wouldn’t have it.’ There is a lot of trust here in him – he has the rights to call plays. He’s a captain and a leader, and for me it means a lot to have so much trust in him. He helps everything – defensively, offensively and options for us to run on offense. He’s huge for us – he’s like another coach on the floor.”
2016-17 Honors: Bliznyuk earned second team All-District 6 honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, marking the third-straight season two Eastern players have been honored by the NABC with all-district honors (Jacob Wiley was on the first team). A second team All-Big Sky selection as chosen by the league’s head coaches, Bliznyuk earned first team All-BSC honors from HoopsHD.Com. He was also honored twice as Big Sky Conference Player of the Week by the league office. He joined teammate Jacob Wiley on Dec. 30 in being honored by HoopsHD.Com as mid-season All-Big Sky Conference selections. Bliznyuk was named that organization's "Player of the Year So Far.” In addition, he earned Big Sky All-Academic honors for the third time. Prior to the start of the season, he was a first team selection on the College Sports Madness preseason All-Big Sky Conference team. Bliznyuk served as a team co-captain along with two-time co-captain Felix Von Hofe.
2016-17: Bliznyuk averaged 26.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in his last eight games of the season. He ranked in the top 11 in four different statistical categories in the league, ranking fifth in points (20.6 per game), seventh in rebounds (6.5), sixth in assists (4.0) and 11th in free throw percentage (.821). Southern Utah’s Randy Onwuasor was the only other league player to rank in the top 11 in each of those four categories. Bliznyuk ranked 25th nationally in scoring and 149th in assists. Bliznyuk’s scoring average (20.62) ranked as the seventh-best in EWU single season history, and he became just the fourth Eagle to score 700 points in a single season (he finished fourth in school history with 701). He closed the year with a 29-point performance with seven assists in a 91-81 loss to Wyoming (3/15/17) in the College Basketball Invitational.
In two Big Sky Conference Tournament games, Bliznyuk had 50 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three steals, including a 32-point performance in the semifinals against Weber State (3/10/17). He ended the regular season by getting 60 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists in a weekend split to help EWU finish with the second-most Big Sky victories in school history with 13. One game prior, his 32-point effort on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 15-of-16 from the free throw line helped EWU move into a first-place tie with a 91-75 win over Southern Utah (3/2/17). Late in the season, he had 24 points and 10 rebounds versus Idaho State (2/25/17), just two games after he had 25 points and 13 boards against Idaho (2/17/17). In between those two games he had 25-point effort with seven rebounds in an 82-72 win over Weber State (2/23/17) to help boost Eastern into a second-place tie in the Big Sky standings with the Wildcats.
Bliznyuk sank 14-of-29 field goals and 17-of-20 free throws on his way to equaling the school record with 45 points versus Portland State (2/4/17) in a 130-124 triple-overtime victory. His 53 minutes and 29 field goal attempts were also records. He scored only seven points in the first half, had 11 in the second half, then exploded for 27 in 15 overtime minutes (4-11-12). He also had 10 rebounds and nine assists to come just one stat from another triple-double for the second time of his career.
He closed the non-conference schedule with a 25-point performance at Colorado (12/22/16) that included 21 in the first half, scoring 18-straight Eastern points at one point. He had a 34-point effort in EWU’s 88-86 win over Morehead State (12/13/16), making 13-of-19 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws. Bliznyuk had a double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds in EWU’s 93-88 double-overtime non-conference victory over Seattle (12/4/16) to earn his second of two Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors. The previous week, after helping EWU win three home games, Bliznyuk was also the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. He came a rebound away from the second triple-double in school history (he had the first as a sophomore last year) with 22 points, a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds in an 85-80 win over Denver. The next night, he equaled what was then his career-high with 32 points, and added seven rebounds and seven assists in a 96-90 shootout win against San Francisco.
Bliznyuk compiled some big numbers during Eastern’s seven-game winning streak from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13, including four performances of at least 31 points. He averaged 25.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game in that stretch, making 53.0 percent of his field goals, 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots (9-of-24) and 89.6 percent of his free throws (43-of-48).
2015-16: Earned Big Sky All-Academic honors for the second time. Bliznyuk was one of only two players in the league (NAUs Kris Yanku was the other) to rank in the top 25 in scoring (20th, 12.4 per game) and the top 12 in rebounding (8th, 6.8) and assists (12th, 3.0). He also ranked in the top 10 in steals (9th, 1.2) and free throw percentage (9th, 79.8 percent). In league only statistics, Bliznyuk finished ranked in the top 20 in scoring (20th, 12.5) and in the top 11 in five other categories – rebounding (6th, 7.8), assists (11th, 3.4), blocked shots (8th, 1.0), free throw percentage (6th, .833) and assist-to-turnover ratio (8th, +1.6). Playing a key “blur” position for the Eagles, Bliznyuk had seven double-doubles as a sophomore. Including the first triple-double in school history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a 96-73 victory over Northern Arizona (1/16/16). He made 4-of-12 shots from the field and both of his free throws, and also had three blocked shots. Not even Rodney Stuckey, now of the Indiana Pacers, or former All-Big Sky point guard Drew Brandon, were able to register the rare feat. He followed that with his fourth double-double of his career and third in the 2015-16 season with 22 points and 13 rebounds at Montana State (1/21/16), and against Portland State (1/28/16) he had another monster game with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocked shots in 34 minutes. In Eastern’s road sweep over Northern Arizona (84-73) and Southern Utah (81-67), he averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals to earn College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week honors. He helped EWU secure its first victory in a national postseason tournament as a member of NCAA Division I when he scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the second half of a 79-72 win over Pepperdine (3/16/16) in the College Basketball Invitational. Was named to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team, one of just seven players league-wide selected by a panel of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors in the league. College Sports Madness also named him to its preseason All-Big Sky Conference team as a second team selection.
2014-15: As a true freshman, Bliznyuk provided a boost off the bench during league play and beyond, and in the process was selected as the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year as chosen by the league’s head coaches. He also earned Big Sky All-Academic honors for the first time. Bliznyuk averaged 12.0 points in league play to rank 24th in the Big Sky -- tops among all freshmen. He was also fifth in field goal shooting (58.0 percent) and 12th in rebounding (5.6) while also averaging 24.3 minutes and 1.4 assists. He made 58.0 percent of his shots (80-of-138) in those 18 league games and converted 39-of-51 free throws (76.6 percent). The only Eagle to play in all 35 games in the 2014-15 season – all off the bench -- Bliznyuk averaged 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds on the season while making 58.6 percent of his field goal attempts to rank fifth overall in the Big Sky. Just two years prior, teammate Venky Jois was the league’s Freshman of the Year, an honor won six times in a 14-year span by Eastern players (Glen Dean 2010, Rodney Stuckey 2006, Matt Nelson 2004 and Marc Axton 2002). Twelve of Bliznyuk’s 17 double-figure scoring performances came during the Big Sky season, two of them were in the Big Sky Tournament and the 17th came in the NCAA Tournament. Four times during league play he eclipsed his career high for scoring, and three times for rebounding. Bliznyuk closed his outstanding season by finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists in EWU’s loss to Georgetown (3/19/15). He had 19 points and 10 rebounds at Sacramento State (1/17/15) when he had the first double-double of his Eastern career. At one point he had seven-straight double-figure scoring performances, including a career-high 25 versus North Dakota (1/24/15) and 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds one game later versus Idaho (1/31/15). He ended the regular season with 14 points in EWU’s Big Sky Conference title-clinching victory over Weber State (3/7/15), sinking a 3-pointer with 1:46 left in overtime to give EWU its first lead of the game and the lead for good in the 79-71 come-from-behind victory. He scored 16 points in a semifinal victory over Sacramento State (3/13/15) and 13 in the championship game against Montana (3/14/15) in the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
High School: Graduated from Todd Beamer High School in 2014. He capped his career by playing in the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association (WIBCA) All-State Game. He earned first team All-State accolades and Tacoma News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year honors after averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocked shots per game as a senior. He was also named to the 2014 Associated Press Class 4A All-State team, and was a second team All-State choice by the Seattle Times. He was the South Puget Sound League South Division Player of the Year and a first-team all-league selection. Formerly from the Ukraine, Bliznyuk helped Todd Beamer to a fifth-place finish at the 2014 State 4A Championships. He helped lead the Titans to their first-ever SPSL South Division regular season title, as well as its first West Central/Southwest Bi-District championship in 2014. He had a career-best 32 points during a win over Federal Way at the district tournament as Todd Beamer advanced to the state tournament for only the second time in school history. The Titans finished the season 22-6 overall and 15-1 in the SPSL. He was also a three-point shooting threat for Todd Beamer, making 54-of-110 for 49 percent as a senior. Overall, he made 173-of-346 shots from the field for 50 percent, and 90-of-103 free throws for 87 percent. Early in the year he made 6-of-8 3-pointers and 11-of-15 overall for 28 points in an 83-55 win over Bethel. Following the completion of the season, he led the Washington team in scoring with 29 points and 11 rebounds at the prestigious Northwest Shootout Hillsboro, Ore., on April 26, 2014. Although his team lost 127-114 to Oregon, he finished 11-of-23 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. As a junior, Bliznyuk averaged 15.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to earn the first of two team MVP honors. He made 30-of-58 3-point shots (52 percent) that season, and 49 percent of his shots overall and 81 percent of his free throws. Todd Beamer finished the season 18-8 overall and 11-5 in league play.
