Bohdan Blyzniuk Explained

Bohdan Blyzniuk
Position:Shooting guard
Height Ft:6
Height In:6
Weight Lb:215
League:Lithuanian Basketball League
Team:CBet Jonava
Birth Date:31 March 1995
Birth Place:Lutsk, Ukraine
High School:Todd Beamer
(Federal Way, Washington)
College:Eastern Washington (2014–2018)
Draft Year:2018
Career Start:2018
Years1:2018–2019
Team1:Bnei Herzliya
Years2:2019–2021
Team2:Kyiv-Basket
Years3:2021–2023
Team3:BC Budivelnyk
Years4:2023
Team4:Cholet Basket
Years5:2024–present
Team5:CBet Jonava
Highlights:

Bohdan Olexandrovich Blyzniuk (Ukrainian: Богдан Олександрович Близнюк|{{transliteration|uk|ukrainian|Bohdan Oleksandrovych Blyzniuk; born March 31, 1995) is a Ukrainian basketball player for CBet Jonava of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). He played college basketball for the Eastern Washington Eagles, where he was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Year in 2018.

Early life

Blyzniuk was born 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, Washington five years later to be closer to family. His older brother, Dmytro, and his mother, Liudmyla, helped raise Bohdan, while also caring for his grandmother.[1]

Blyzniuk became a U.S. citizen in February 2016.[2]

College career

Blyzniuk played college basketball for the Eastern Washington University's Eagles.

On March 9, 2018, Blyzniuk became the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leading scorer, passing Orlando Lightfoot’s mark of 2,102 set in 1994.[3] Earlier in the season, Bliznyuk claimed the school all-time scoring mark, passing Venky Jois’ total of 1,803.[4] Bliznyuk's conference career scoring mark stood until the following season, when Montana State's Tyler Hall broke it.[5]

Bohdan finished his senior year averaging 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Year[6] and AP Honorable Mention.[7]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Blyzniuk joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2018 NBA Summer League.[8]

On July 5, 2018, Blyzniuk started his professional career with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Premier League, signing a three-year deal.[9] On January 21, 2019, Bohdan recorded a season-high 18 points, shooting 7-of-13 from the field, in an 81–100 loss to Hapoel Eilat.[10] That season, Bnei Herzliya have finished the season in the last place out of 12 teams and was relegated to the Israeli National League (the second-tier league in Israel).

On September 30, 2019, Blyzniuk signed with Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian SuperLeague.[11] During the 2020–21 season, he averaged 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. On September 16, 2021, Bohdan signed with BC Budivelnyk.[12]

In the 2022-23 season, he signs for BC Budivelnyk to play in the FIBA Europe Cup (playing at home in Italy) and the Balkan League.[13]

On March 22, 2023, he signed with Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A.[14]

On August 14, 2024, Bliznyuk signed with CBet Jonava of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[15]

National team career

Blyzniuk is a member of the Ukraine national team. On November 29, 2018, he made his debut in an 82–54 win over Slovenia, scoring 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.[16]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2014–15| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 35 || 0 || 19.0 || .586 || .558 || .792 || 4.0 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 8.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 34 || 32 || 33.0 || .447 || .355 || .798 || 6.7 || 3.0 || 1.2 || 0.7 || 12.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 34 || 33 || 36.8 || .474 || .317 || .821 || 6.5 || 4.0 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 20.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 35 || 35 || 35.1 || .528 || .398 || .902 || 6.8 || 3.9 || 0.8 || 0.2 || 21.1|-| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" | Career| 138 || 100 || 30.9 || .500 || .378 || .840 || 6.0 || 3.0 || 0.9 || 0.4 || 15.7

Source: RealGM

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bogdan Bliznyuk - Eastern Washington University. GoEags.com. December 8, 2018.
  2. News: Allen . Jim . EWU's Bogdan Bliznyuk attained success because of his family . 9 March 2022 . . March 2, 2016.
  3. News: Bogdan Bliznyuk becomes Big Sky's all-time leading scorer while leading Eastern Washington to title game . Jim. Allen . . March 9, 2018 . March 10, 2018.
  4. News: Scoring record belongs to Bliznyuk after EWU's 95–71 romp past North Dakota. Eastern Washington Eagles . January 25, 2018 . March 10, 2018.
  5. News: Tyler Hall breaks Big Sky scoring record but Montana State falters on road at EWU . . January 19, 2019 . January 21, 2019.
  6. News: Allen. Jim. Bogdan Bliznyuk leaves lasting legacy on, off court at Eastern Washington. March 10, 2018. The Spokesman-Review. March 7, 2018.
  7. News: EWU's Bogdan Bliznyuk Collects AP All-America Honorable Mention Accolades. July 5, 2018. bigskyconf.com. March 27, 2018.
  8. News: Collingwood. Ryan. Ex-Eastern Washington star Bogdan Bliznyuk agrees to NBA Summer League contract with LA Clippers. July 5, 2018. The Spokesman-Review. June 23, 2018.
  9. News: Carchia. E.. Bnei Herzliya signs rookie Bogdan Bliznyuk. July 5, 2018. sportando.basketball. July 5, 2018.
  10. News: Winner League, Game 15: Herzliya Vs Hapoel Eilat. October 18, 2019. basket.co.il. January 21, 2019.
  11. News: Bogdan Bliznyuk signs at Kyiv Basket. October 18, 2019. Eurobasket.com. September 30, 2019.
  12. Web site: Cherkasov . Sergey . Budivelnyk adds Bliznyuk to their roster . Eurobasket . September 16, 2021 . September 16, 2021.
  13. Web site: 28 November 2022. 28 November 2022. es. Ucrania, el baloncesto y la guerra. zonadebasquet.com.
  14. Web site: Bogdan Bliznyuk, De Kiev A Cholet. March 22, 2023. cholet-basket.com. fr. March 23, 2023.
  15. Web site: Jonavoje – dar vienas naujokas: prie komandos jungiasi Bogdan Bliznyuk. August 14, 2024. bcjonava.lt. lt. August 18, 2024.
  16. News: Ukraine v Slovenia boxscore - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers. December 8, 2018. fiba.basketball. November 29, 2018.