EWU’s Bogdan Bliznyuk attained success because of his family

Long before he was an all-star basketball player, Bogdan Bliznyuk was a poor immigrant gym rat whose shoes wore out far too often.

Every time they did, his older brother Dima would find a way to replace those size-14 1/2 boats while also helping keep the family afloat.

“He was always there for me, because that’s what you do for family,” said Bogdan, a sophomore forward at Eastern Washington whose story is less about his own success than about the people who helped him achieve it.

That includes Dima and their mother Lyudmila. Both will be in Cheney on Saturday to cheer on Bogdan and the rest of the Eagles in the regular-season finale against Weber State.

Born almost 21 years ago in one of the poorest regions of Ukraine, Bogdan was only 2 when his father died in a car accident. Five years later, Lyudmila brought her two sons and their grandmother to Federal Way, Washington, where their extended family had established a toehold on the American way of life.

Hardship was all around them. Lyudmila worked long hours as a caregiver while raising a family on her own despite the language barrier and her own hearing impairments.

“My mother, she’s always worked hard, and that carries over to me,” Bogdan said.

Dima had basketball dreams of his own until a severe foot injury in the eighth grade; by the age of 16, he had dropped out of high school to work in construction and help support the family.

Mostly that was Bogdan, who was born with a gap in his upper jaw and required several surgeries since moving to the United States.

Despite that, Bogdan acclimated quickly to America. “Unlike my mom and brother, I wasn’t really into anything yet – Dima was going to school already and they had friends.”

They made new ones, of course, but Bogdan positively thrived. He never played basketball back in Lutsk, a Spokane-sized city near the Polish border, but caught an AAU coach’s eyes while playing pickup ball at a community center.

By his senior year at Todd Beamer High School, the 6-foot-6 forward was averaging 19.6 points, six rebounds and a 3.8 grade-point average while catching the eye of college recruiters – including Jim Hayford at EWU.

Dima was there for him. After high school practices, “He always made sure I had a ride,” said Bogdan, who graduated from high school in 2014. “He worked his butt off for me – I know it was tough, but he rejoices in my success,” Bogdan said.

The family work ethic continued to pay off in Cheney last season, when Bogdan surprised everyone but himself and Hayford by averaging 12 points a game and being named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and helping the Eagles reach the NCAA tournament.

A starter this year, 20-year-old Bogdan was halfway through the school year when he decided it was past time to become an American citizen. After driving across the state in a snowstorm, he passed his citizenship test, then drove back the next day just in time for practice.

His American citizenship was finalized in a ceremony last week. “I’ve been here so long, it feels great to finally be an American citizen,” Bliznyuk said.