Bohdan Blyzniuk

Bohdan Olexandrovich Blyzniuk (ukr. Богдан Оlexandrovich Близнюк; born March 31, 1995) is a Ukrainian basketball player who last played for Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Eastern Washington Eagles, where he was named Big Sky Conference Player of the Year in 2018.

Bohdan Blyzniuk
Free Agent
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Personal information
Born (1995-03-31) March 31, 1995
Lutsk, Ukraine
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolTodd Beamer
(Federal Way, Washington)
CollegeEastern Washington (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Bnei Herzliya
2019–2021Kyiv-Basket
2021–2023BC Budivelnyk
2023Cholet Basket
Career highlights and awards

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.[1] His older brother, Dmytro, and his mother, Liudmyla, helped raise Bohdan, while also caring for his grandmother.[2]

Blyzniuk became a U.S. citizen in February 2016.[1]

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]

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.[15]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Eastern Washington 35019.0.586.558.7924.01.10.50.48.7
2015–16 Eastern Washington 343233.0.447.355.7986.73.01.20.712.4
2016–17 Eastern Washington 343336.8.474.317.8216.54.01.00.220.6
2017–18 Eastern Washington 353535.1.528.398.9026.83.90.80.221.1
Career 13810030.9.500.378.8406.03.00.90.415.7

Source: RealGM

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