Two Eagles, Wildcats voted to All-Big Sky squad; Jois is inaugural MVP

BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE & Skyline Sports

 RENO, Nevada — The Big Sky Conference announced its first-ever men’s basketball preseason All-Conference team, the league announced on Sunday. In the first-ever vote by the conference’s media relations directors and media members, Eastern Washington senior forward, Venky Jois, was named the preseason Most Valuable Player.

Jois, a native of Baronia, Australia, averaged 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game last season. He earned a first-team All-Big Sky honors and an All-Big Sky Tournament selection for his efforts. He helped lead EWU to its best season in the school’s NCAA Division I history. The Eagles finished the 2014-15 season with a 26-9 record (14-4 BSC), a Big Sky Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles finished with program bests for victories overall, league wins, road (11) wins and in non-conference play (9) in 32 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I.

EWU sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk, also earned a spot on the preseason All-Conference team. The sophomore forward averaged 12 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per contest in his rookie season in earning Big Sky Freshman of the Year.

Weber State placed two players on the preseason All-Big Sky team with senior Joel Bolomboy and junior Jeremy Senglin earning nods. Bolomboy, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, averaged a double-double last season with 13.3 points per game and 10.2 rebounds. He was a second-team All-Big Sky pick last season and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year two seasons ago. Senglin was the Wildcats’ leading scorer last season with 16.4 points per game. He was named an honorable mention All-Big Sky selection despite missing a large chunk of the season with a broken jaw. WSU and Montana were the preseason favorites to win the Big Sky.

Montana’s Martin Breunig represented UM as the Grizzlies’ lone preseason selection. Breunig, who was named a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky selection last year, averaged 16.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds as the former Washington Husky helped lead UM to a Big Sky regular season title.

Montana State’s Marcus Colbert was named the 2014-15 Big Sky Reserve of the Year. He is the Bobcats’ top returning scorer with 13.1 points per game last season. He also chipped in 140 assists in his junior campaign. Montana State went 7-24 in Brian Fish’s first season last winter.

Northern Arizona junior guard Kris Yanku, was the nation’s best free throw shooter last season and a first-team All-Big Sky selection. Yanku averaged 13.8 points per game last season and notched 189 assists. The Chatsworth, Calif., native helped lead the Lumberjacks to one of their best seasons in school history and a CIT Tournament final appearance.