EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week: Venky Jois (#55)

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week November 20th to November 26th, 2012

Venky Jois (#55)
photo from goeags.com

Venky Jois (#55)
Freshman Forward 6'7" 220lbs

Third week of his Freshman season?  Three games on the road?  No problem!  Jois knocked out two double-doubles and helped the Eagles earn their first victory of the season.  The athletic forward from Australia flashed some in the first three games of the season, but in the Eagles third week Venky caught fire.  In a 3 point loss to the Utah Valley Wolverines, Venky earned his first double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while going 5 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.

At 0-4 with two road games left before their home opener, the Eagles and Venky stepped onto the court with the University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans and walked away with their first win of the season.  Jois, along with Collin Chiverton (#24), lead all players with 19 points, he also lead all players in rebounds with 11 for his second double-double.  In the final game of the week, Venky and the Eagle's lost to the undefeated Santa Clara Bronco's.  Venky put together another impressive game despite the loss, netting 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal.

Venky Jois is an exciting player, with huge dunks and tough defense, Eagles fans can expect to see more and more of the Forward from Australia.  For the week he totaled 46 points, 28 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

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Check out the previous EWU Eagle Eye Players of the Week:
November 13th to November 19th, 2012
November 6th to November 12th, 2012
February 28th to March 5th, 2012
February 21st to February 27th, 2012
February 14th to February 20th, 2012
February 7th to February 13th, 2012
January 31st to February 6th, 2012

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week: Justin Crosgile (#5)

Justin Crosgile (#5)
photo from goeags.com

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week November 13th to November 19th, 2012

Justin Crosgile (#5)- @HUNGRY_HUMBLE5
Junior Guard 5'11" 170lbs.

The second week of this season saw just one game for the Eagles, a 66-85 loss to the Saint Mary's Gaels.  Despite the loss, Justin Crosgile performed well for the Eagles netting 13 points for his fourth consecutive game with at least that many points.  He also added 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals while giving up a season low 2 turnovers.

The Junior point guard had a rough start to the game shooting just 2 of 6 for 5 points with no assists in the first half.  As the Eagles fought to get back into the game, Justin dished 5 assists and scored 8 more points going 3 of 7 for the half.  In a disappointing loss, Crosgile and the Eagles fought hard for all 40 minutes and showed no quit.

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Check out the previous EWU Eagle Eye Players of the Week:
November 6th to November 12th, 2012
February 28th to March 5th, 2012
February 21st to February 27th, 2012
February 14th to February 20th, 2012
February 7th to February 13th, 2012
January 31st to February 6th, 2012

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week: Martin Seiferth (#12)

Martin Seiferth (#12)
photo from goeags.com

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week November 6th to November 12th, 2012

Martin Seiferth (#12) - @martiin_12
Sophomore Forward 6'10" 230lbs.

In the first week of the 2012 - 2013 season, the Sophomore transfer from Berlin flashed the potential to be the most dominant post player in school history.  The opener at Washington State was a tough game for him and he was in foul trouble early and often.  Ultimately he was limited to just 14 minutes, 2 points, 2 blocks and 3 rebounds.  His inauspicious start was redeemed in his performance against Cal State Northridge.

The big Sophomore from Germany dominated the paint for the Eagles earning 27 points, 17 rebounds, 7 blocks and 1 steal to go with just 1 personal foul and 1 turnover.  He has already been recognized by the conference as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week and rightfully so.  His performance against Cal State Northridge, coming back from his tough start in the first game, are more than worthy of our recognition too!

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Check out the previous EWU Eagle Eye Players of the Week:
February 28th to March 5th, 2012
February 21st to February 27th, 2012
February 14th to February 20th, 2012
February 7th to February 13th, 2012
January 31st to February 6th, 2012

EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week Nominees

Last year we started a tradition, very late in the season, to evaluate and select the one Eagle player from the week whose individual contributions warranted our recognition.  We call this the EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week and with you're help I think we can make that choice.  Typically I will post this much earlier in the week and give a couple days for commenting, this time however I need your thoughts as soon as possible.  We have until just before tip off to decide... so be sure to comment and tell me who you think should be this week's EWU Eagle Eye Player of the Week!

This season's first week saw a pair of Eagle's losses to a pair of teams that I think may end up being very good.  Statistically speaking we have two players:  Martin Seiferth (#12) with 29 points, 20 rebounds and 9 blocks, and Justin Crosgile (#5) with 46 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds that truly jump out and scream to be recognized, but if we dig a little deeper and factor in consistency  into the stats a third name joins the list: Venky Jois (#55) with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks.

Stick with me after the break for a more in depth look.
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EWU Basketball Update: Don't Panic

Good Evening Eagle's Fans!  I've been a bit preoccupied the past few days with work, military drills and taking care of my wife, so I apologize for the lack of posts.  There are more posts coming, and soon, but I wanted to just quickly say a bit about the rather rough start for the Eagles so far.

Yes, the Eagles have started out with a pair of double digit defeats, and yes their next game is against a very talented and very experienced Saint Mary's team, but even if they go 0-3 to start the season, there is no reason to panic.  Previously I posted about the non-conference schedule and mentioned why its the conference games that matter most.  As of today the Eagles have as good a chance of winning the Big Sky Conference as anyone else.

This is a young team and only 7 of them have ever played together before, only three have played significant minutes together under this coaching staff.  This Eagles Squad represents players from three continents, three countries, four other colleges, seven states, fifteen different cities, and sixteen different high schools.  It is going to take some time for them to bring it all together.  Coach Hayford has repeatedly said that, "the hardest part about experience is getting it."  This squad may have a rough start, but they are getting experience playing together against top flight competition.

There are plenty of good signs as well, Justin Crosgile (#5) had a game leading 28 point effort in the first game and followed it up with 18 points against Cal State Northridge.  More importantly he took fewer shots, hit a higher percentage of them and had more assists as well.  That's improvement.  Against Washington State, Martin Seiferth (#12) played just 14 minutes due to 4 personal fouls and earned just 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 points; against Cal State Northridge he played 36 minutes netting 27 points, 17 rebounds, 7 blocks and just 1 personal foul.  Freshman Venky Jois (#55) has 18 points, 16 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks to go with 4 personal fouls (all in the Washington State game) in his first two starts.  Parker Kelly (#10), Collin Chiverton (#24) and Jeffrey Forbes (#22) have all played well below the level we saw last year and that is likely to change as the year goes on.  Kevin Winford (#23) looks confident and ready to be one of the Senior leaders for this team and Jordan Hickert (#25) looks like the same dangerous offensive threat we saw last season.

So don't panic, this team has 8* more games before the conference season and I for one expect them to keep getting better every game through out this season.

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*This post orignially indicated there were 9 non-conference games remaining.

Chatting with Coach: Head Coach Jim Hayford talks about the Eagles taking on the Washington State Cougars

"I think you'll find it's the exact same measurements as our gym back in Hickory."  Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) from the movie Hoosiers.

Head Coach Jim Hayford
photo from goeags.com

OK, so one of my favorite movies of all time is Hoosiers.  Something about the story of the small school taking on all the big time schools and winning just gets me excited.  Last night I had the opportunity (again) to talk with EWU Men's Basketball Head Coach Jim Hayford and we talked Eagle Hoops, the upcoming game against the Washington State Cougars, Red Shirts and more.

Like the Hickory High School team from that film, Coach Hayford and his team are going to meet their challenges head on.  Previously I asked Coach about the challenge of replacing so much experience with the graduation of Cliff Colimon, Cliff Ederaine, Laron Griffin and Tremayne Johnson, "The hard part about experience is getting it.    Well our guys are going to get it right out of the shoot."

On Saturday the Eastern Washington Eagles, lead by second year Head Coach Jim Hayford, will take on the Washington State Cougars for the 66th time.  The Cougars hold a rather commanding lead in the all time series between the schools with 54 wins and have not lost to the Eagles since the 1996 - 1997 season.  Last year Coach Hayford's Eagles got run out of the gym in Pullman to the tune of 75-49.  So what's different this year?  I got the opportunity to talk to Coach Hayford about just that.

Click on through the break to find out more and find the audio as well.

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EWU Basketball Game Preview: Washington State Cougars 12-10-2012

Kevin Winford and the Eagles are ready to soar
photo from goeags.com

Tip off is at 4:30pm pst, you can find the game on the Pac-12 networks or by listening to the 700 ESPN radio broadcast (which will start once the EWU Football game is over).

The Eagles have played the Cougars 65 times going 11-54 in those games, their last win came in the 1996-1997 season.  The most recent matchup was a 26 point defeat last season as the Cougars forced the Eagles into their worst game of the season.  Last season they played Gonzaga then ranked #23 in the nation and lost by 8.  They played Saint Mary’s who took Gonzaga down for the WCC Championship and lost by 16.  In Big Sky Conference play the Eagles lost only one game by double digits, a 74 - 60 loss to eventual champion Montana on January 26th.  By the end of the season the Eagles scared every team they faced and even swept what had been a surging Idaho State team in three games in just eight days.  

It’s difficult to claim that one 26 point defeat turned a season around, or that it could provide inspiration enough for a team with a brand new Head Coach and multiple new starters to make a run into the Big Sky Conference tournament.  Then again, the last time a team lead by Coach Jim Hayford lost by 26 was January 14, 2005 when his Whitworth Pirates lost to the University of Puget Sound Loggers.  I think its safe to assume that Coach Hayford envisions a much more competitive outcome Saturday.

Find out more after the break:

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