All Conference Team

[EWU98]

Very Proud of our guys representing!
What puzzles me is we have the Nations #1 scorer and he is not the MVP. Yes I know he missed some games because of injuries, but seriously....I think it only has to do with the fact he is a senior. Too bad for Harvey

Bliznyuk was a unanimous selection as the Freshman of the Year.

2014-15 Big Sky Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

FIRST TEAM
Player Hgt Year Pos. School Hometown
*#Tyler Harvey 6-4 Jr. G Eastern Washington Torrance, Calif.
Venky Jois 6-8 Jr. F Eastern Washington Boronia, Australia
*Martin Breunig 6-8 Jr. F Montana Leverkusen, Germany
Jordan Gregory 6-2 Sr. G Montana Pueblo, Colo.
Kris Yanku 6-4 So. G Northern Arizona Chatsworth, Calif.
*#Mikh McKinney 6-1 Sr. G Sacramento State Union City, Calif.

*Unanimous Selection
#Two-time First Team Selection

 

[Potomac Griz]

I think it only has to do with the fact he is a senior.

Think it was more the other stats. Here are the comparisons for conference only games & where each ranked:

Scoring:
#1 Harvey - 23.1/game
#2 McKinney - 19.7/game

FG%:
McKinney - 50.2%
Harvey - 42.6%

Assists:
#3 McKinney - 5.2/game
Harvey - 2.4/game

FT%:
McKinney - 75.3%
#1 Harvey - 86.9%

Steals:
#1 McKinney - 2.2/game
Harvey - 1.0/game

3pt%:
#10 McKinney - 45.1%
Harvey - 37.3%

3pt Made:
#8 McKinney - 2.3
#2 Harvey - 3.5

Assist/Turnover Ratio:
#5 McKinney - 2.3 (5.2 assists, 2.3 turnovers)
Harvey - 1.2 (2.4 assists, 2.0 turnovers)

Rebounds:
McKinney - 2.3
Harvey - 3.9
----------

Both obviously very good players and to be honest I thought it'd probably go to Harvey. After looking at the stats though I can see why it went to McKinney. His assists, leading the conference in steals, and much higher shooting percentage probably was the tipping point.

Congrats to Jois, Harvey and Bliznyuk! Just curious, was Bliznyuk recruited by any other D1 teams? I didn't find much out there on him on the recruiting sites...but damn you guys got a good one there.

 

[ClarkWGrizwald]

Harvey is a great player and a fantastic shooter. But McKinney is a better defender. And frankly, I'm happy that defense is starting to get recognized more in these sorts of awards. I think the correct decision was made. That all said, it wouldn't have surprised me -- and I could have fully supported -- Harvey getting the nod.

 

[Rafter_Reese]

Harvey is a great player and a fantastic shooter. But McKinney is a better defender. And frankly, I'm happy that defense is starting to get recognized more in these sorts of awards. I think the correct decision was made. That all said, it wouldn't have surprised me -- and I could have fully supported -- Harvey getting the nod.

Harvey is a great player. He did miss some games though which may have cost him the MVP. Whether or not Harvey was the best player in the conference this year is debatable, but I think McKinney meant the most to his team. When Harvey was out we kept winning games. Even beat UM on the road which was no easy task and came back from down 11 against Idaho with 1:33 left to go. I don't think Sac wins 13 games this year without McKinney where the Eags proved they could win without Harvey. That makes McKinney the MVP in my eyes. MVP stands for Most Valuable Player but there is still debate out there in multiple sports whether or not that means the "best" player in the league, or the most valuable to his team. I like both players a lot. You couldn't of gone wrong with either player. Both very gifted.

As for the Bliz, I think we may have a future MVP on our hands. Super lucky to have landed that kid. He can do it all.

From the Rafters....
go eags!

 

[EWUEagleEye]

I have to say... Harvey earnes the MVP if he played all the games and kept the same pace pre-injury. It would have been a shame.

I'm clearly an Eagles fan, and Harvey is far and away the best shooter in the conference... that being said, Mikh McKinney produced on an astounding level. The kid had an incredible season and was just a missed buzzer beater from guiding his team to a Conference Championship. In this case I really feel the right choice was made.

Of course, I would have celebrated Tyler being selected and can easily defend that position as well. Tyler was fantastic this year and willed the team to victory multiple times... Hopefully he gets about 9 more games this season to make the Big Sky wonder if they made the wrong choice.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I think it only has to do with the fact he is a senior.

Think it was more the other stats. Here are the comparisons for conference only games & where each ranked:

Scoring:
#1 Harvey - 23.1/game
#2 McKinney - 19.7/game

FG%:
McKinney - 50.2%
Harvey - 42.6%

Assists:
#3 McKinney - 5.2/game
Harvey - 2.4/game

FT%:
McKinney - 75.3%
#1 Harvey - 86.9%

Steals:
#1 McKinney - 2.2/game
Harvey - 1.0/game

3pt%:
#10 McKinney - 45.1%
Harvey - 37.3%

3pt Made:
#8 McKinney - 2.3
#2 Harvey - 3.5

Assist/Turnover Ratio:
#5 McKinney - 2.3 (5.2 assists, 2.3 turnovers)
Harvey - 1.2 (2.4 assists, 2.0 turnovers)

Rebounds:
McKinney - 2.3
Harvey - 3.9
----------

Both obviously very good players and to be honest I thought it'd probably go to Harvey. After looking at the stats though I can see why it went to McKinney. His assists, leading the conference in steals, and much higher shooting percentage probably was the tipping point.

Congrats to Jois, Harvey and Bliznyuk! Just curious, was Bliznyuk recruited by any other D1 teams? I didn't find much out there on him on the recruiting sites...but damn you guys got a good one there.

My understanding is that Bliz didn't have any other DI offers. Hayford joked after the Sac State game that neither team was tabbed for success because neither fielded a single player that had actually been offered by any other DI programs. Basketball is weird like that. You could never take a bunch of D-II and NAIA kids and make a great football team, by contrast.