EWU coach Hayford sees program on upswing

The Eastern Washington basketball team is unburdened by expectations this season – high, low or in between.

Coach Jim Hayford has experienced them all going into his fourth season in Cheney, which began Saturday with the first of 30 practices before the opener at Reese Court on Nov. 14 against Texas Southern.

That experience has taught Hayford to take nothing for granted. Last year, the Eagles showed big improvements in most facets of the game but barely missed the Big Sky Conference tournament despite going 10-10 in league, 15-16 overall.

“I think as you look at the Big Sky this season, there are six or seven teams who can legitimately compete for the championship,” Hayford said. “It’s going to make for some very exciting games every night out.”

Based on expectations, the Eagles should be one of them. The Eagles are picked to finish sixth by Athlon and first by Lindy’s, which also anoints junior guard Tyler Harvey as its preseason Big Sky MVP.

Hayford admits he didn’t see that one coming when he recruited Harvey almost four years ago.

“I thought he had a high upside, but Tyler deserves all the credit, because his work ethic is second to none,” Hayford said.

Athlon’s five-player All-Big Sky squad also includes Harvey, who averaged a conference-leading 21.8 points and made a school-record 109 3-pointers last year. Forward Venky Jois and point guard Drew Brandon were second-team picks.

Jois averaged 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds with nine double-doubles in the 2013-14 season. Brandon led the league and ranked 49th in the NCAA in assists per game with 5.1

Throw in senior guard Parker Kelly and emerging forwards Ognjen Miljkovic and Felix Von Hofe, and the Eagles are no longer the inexperienced outfit of the past two seasons.

“I look at how the whole team went through growing pains when they were freshmen and then again last year,” Hayford said. “I thought we’ve advanced the program to a respectable level.”

The next step: winning on the road. Last year, Eastern was 3-12 away from Reese Court, including a 3-7 record in Big Sky games.

“As a team, we have to take the next step forward in being successful on the road,” said Hayford, whose club will play its first four games at home before visiting Southern Methodist on Nov. 22.