Get to Know the EWU Basketball Roster

Get to know the members of the EWU basketball team – their stories, their motivations, and what they bring to the court.

Introduction

The Eastern Washington University men’s Basketball team is set to embark on their 2019-20 season with high hopes. The team has been selected to finish second in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll and return three starters from last year’s squad that went 22-11 overall and 12-6 in conference play Head Coach Shantay Legans enters his third season at the helm of the Eagles program and will look to lead EWU to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015.

The Eagles will be led by senior guard Tyler Harvey, who was named the Big Sky Conference preseason player of the year. Harvey averaged 20.1 points per game last season and is EWU’s All-time leading scorer with 1,824 points. He will be joined in the backcourt by junior guard Jesse Hunt, who averaged 11.5 points per game last season.

In the frontcourt, senior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk returns after averaging 17.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season. He will be joined by junior forward Mason Peatling, who averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds per game last season.

The Eagles will also look to contributions from a talented group of newcomers, including junior college transfer Jacob Davison and freshmen Will Ferris and Kim Aiken Jr.

EWU opens their season on Nov. 5 at home against Seattle University before beginning conference play on Dec. 6 at home against Weber State University

Tyler Harvey

Tyler Harvey is a 6’4” shooting guard from Baltimore, Maryland. He is entering his junior year at Eastern Washington University In his first two seasons as an Eagle, Tyler has appeared in every game and started 27 of them. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range

Venky Jois

Venky Jois is a 6’10” forward from Dandenong, Australia. He came to EWU after two seasons at South Kent School in Connecticut, where he helped lead his team to a 34-4 record and the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class A championship in 2011. He was named MVP of the Championship game after scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Bogdan Bliznyuk

Bogdan Bliznyuk is a senior forward on the EWU basketball team He is from Kiev, Ukraine and came to the United States when he was 16 years old. Bogdan was a Standout Player in High School and he originally committed to play at the University of Arizona However, he ultimately decided to stay closer to home and attend EWU.

Bogdan is one of the best players in the conference, and he was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year in 2017. He is also a two-time All-Big Sky Conference First Team selection. Bogdan is an excellent scorer and rebounder, and he has helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

Bogdan is set to graduate this spring with a degree in business administration. After graduation, he plans to pursue a Professional Basketball career.

Felix Von Hofe

Felix Von Hofe is a 6’7” shooting guard/small forward from Munich, Germany. He played his first two seasons of college basketball at North Idaho College before transferring to EWU. He averaged 16 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 42 percent from three-point range as a sophomore at North Idaho. He will have two years of eligibility remaining at EWU.

Ognjen Miljkovic

Ognjen Miljkovic is a 6-foot-7-inch, 240-pound senior forward from Serbia. He started his basketball career in his home country before coming to the United States to play college basketball He played two years at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, before transferring to EWU. In his first season with the Eagles, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Luka Vulikic

Junior Luka Vulikic comes to the U.S. from Perth, Australia, and has two years of eligibility remaining. He is 6 feet 8 inches tall and plays the Power Forward Position Vulikic averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last season.

Jack Perry

Jack Perry is a 6-foot-9, 235-pound center for the Eastern Washington University Eagles. Perry is originally from Spokane, Washington, and attended high school at Lewis and Clark. Perry played two seasons of College Basketball at North Idaho College before transferring to EWU. In his senior season, Perry averaged 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.

Jordan McCloud

Jordan McCloud is a 6’3” point guard from Tampa, Florida. He previously played for the University of South Florida before transferring to EWU. McCloud is averaging 11.5 points per game and 4.5 assists per game so far this season.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this has been a great season for the EWU Eagles Basketball team This team is young, but they have a lot of talent and potential. They have a deep bench and a lot of depth at the guard position. I expect big things from this team in the future.