Quick Facts: Wiley spent the 2016-17 season working toward his master’s degree in communications at Eastern as a graduate transfer from Lewis-Clark State. He has a current 3.52 GPA at Eastern, including 3.73 in winter quarter of 2017 and 3.20 as an undergrad. He is Eastern’s second-straight senior graduate transfer – Austin McBroom earned first team All-Big Sky honors after transferring to EWU from Saint Louis. Wiley was born Sept. 4, 1994. He and Brittany Hopkins were married on April 8, 2017, and have a daughter named Aliya. His mother is Sheree Gilkey, his grandfather is Jack Wiley, and his guardian is Bryan Hopkins. He moved to Newport from the Long Beach, Calif., area to live with his grandparents. Both his father and his grandmother passed away while he was in high school. His grade point average as a high school freshman was 1.6 and he passed one class, but at Newport he had a 3.1 GPA. He graduated from Newport (Wash.) High School in 2012.
Post-Collegiate: The reigning Big Sky Conference MVP raised some eyebrows with his All-Tournament performance at the four-day Portsmouth Invitational Tournament on April 12-15, 2017, in Portsmouth, Va. The former Eagle averaged 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in three games to be selected among the 12 players on the all-tourney squad. He made a big impression on the dozens of National Basketball Association and international scouts in attendance at the event, which included 64 of the nation’s top college seniors competing in a four-day, 12-game event. “(Wiley) possessed one trait that scouts in Portsmouth seemed to love: energy,” wrote Tommy Glasgow from Midmajormadness.com. “Wiley was the engine that powered his team to a pair of victories, and he put up a dominant 29-point, 11-rebound performance on Friday. He displayed some bouncy athleticism on the boards and hustled up and down the court in transition. Facing off against some high-major big men, the 6-foot-7 Wiley more than held his own and was a topic of conversation all week.” Wiley scored 15 points and had eight rebounds in his PIT debut, then followed that with a monster game the next day. He made 11-of-14 shots from the field and finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Besides ranking sixth in the tournament in scoring and fourth in rebounding, he also made 53.8 percent of his shots from the field (21-of-39), 88 percent of his free throws (10-of-12) and had five blocked shots. He played for K & D Round’s, which finished 2-1 in the tournament and also included former Weber State standout Jeremy Senglin. Wiley was married on April 8, then headed for Portsmouth for the 65th-Annual PIT.
Career: Having played
against EWU in three games in his collegiate career, Wiley spent one season in Cheney, Wash., as a graduate transfer from Lewis-Clark State where he earned his bachelor’s degree in communications. He finished his career with 11 total games worth of experience in national and conference postseason tournaments, including a pair in the 2017 Big Sky Conference Tournament when he earned All-Tournament honors. He ended his career by scoring 26 points versus Wyoming (3/15/17) in the College Basketball Invitational. He played two games in the Frontier Conference playoffs in each of his two seasons at Lewis-Clark State, then played in one NAIA Tournament game in 2015 and two in 2016. Although he didn’t play in the Big Sky Tournament as a freshman at Montana in 2013, he played versus Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. Despite playing just one season, his 94 blocked shots in the 2016-17 season ranked fourth on the EWU career list.
2016-17 Honors: With a large list of accolades from his lone season as an Eagle, Wiley put himself on a platform with a trio of EWU all-time greats. Wiley was named by Associated Press as an honorable mention All-America selection on March 28, 2017, becoming just the fourth Eagle to earn that honor in 34 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I. Alvin Snow was the first in 2004, with Rodney Stuckey earning back-to-back awards in 2006 and 2007. Tyler Harvey was the latest to be recognized in 2015. Wiley earned first team All-District 6 honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, marking the third-straight season two Eastern players have been honored by the NABC with all-district honors (Bogdan Bliznyuk was on the second team). Wiley was selected by the league’s head coaches as the Big Sky Conference MVP and a first team all-league choice, then earned Big Sky All-Tournament honors. He is EWU’s third player in 30 years in the Big Sky to earn MVP honors, joining Alvin Snow (2004) and Rodney Stuckey (2006). He also earned All-Big Sky Tournament honors, and HoopsHD.Com selected him as its Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and a first team all-league choice. Wiley earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors in four different weeks, was honored once as Mid-Major Player of the Week, won a tournament MVP honor, and garnered a variety of National Player of the Week accolades for his record-breaking efforts earlier in the 2016-17 season in a home sweep of Sacramento State (2/2/17) and Portland State (2/4/17).
2016-17 Superlatives: Wiley made Big Sky Conference history in the 2016-17 season by becoming just the second player in league history to score at least 639 points and have at least 303 rebounds in a single season in the league's 54-year existence. He finished with totals of 694 and 309, respectively, and no other player in league history has coupled that with at least 58 blocks (Wiley finished with 94 to come one shy of the league record)
or a shooting percentage of at least .621 (Wiley finished at .643). Montana's Larry Krystkowiak (now head coach at Utah) is the other player to have at least 639/303 in the same year, and he had 709 points and 364 rebounds in the 1985-86 season. No Eastern player has had at least 600 points and 300 rebounds, with Ron Cox having 554/328 in the 1975-76 season and 485/356 the following year as a senior. Former Eagle Venky Jois had 525/278/56/.679 as a senior in 2015-16, and 518/238/69/.610 as a junior.
2016-17 Statistics: Wiley finished the season ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage (.643), eighth in blocked shots (2.76 per game), 29th in scoring (20.4), 48th in rebounds (9.1) and 112th in free throw percentage (.828). En route to earning league MVP honors, he led the Big Sky in field goal percentage, rebounds and scoring, and was sixth in scoring. In league-only statistics, Wiley led in scoring (24.6), rebounding (10.3), blocked shots (2.5) and field goal percentage (.659). His scoring average is 10th in EWU single season history, and he is just the seventh Eagle to score 600 points in a single season (he finished fifth with 694). He also averaged 2.76 blocked shots (first in the league and eighth nationally), with a school-record total of 94 to break the previous record of 69 set by Venky Jois in 2015. He finished ranked second all-time in the league, just one from the record (95, Brian Qvale, Montana, 2010-11). His field goal percentage of .643 ranks as the 16th best in league history. Wiley had seven 30-point performances and 18 with at least 20, and he had at least 24 points in 12 of his last 20 games. He had at least 20 in 13 of EWU’s 18 league outings
. For the season, he scored in double figures in all but four of EWU’s 34 games and had 11 double-doubles, with a total of 13 double-figure rebounding performances.
Other 2016-17 Season Highlights/Superlatives:
- Even higher than the likes of Rodney Stuckey, Austin McBroom and Tyler Harvey, Wiley averaged 28.5 points in a 10-game stretch from Jan. 12 to Feb. 11 for a total of 285 points. Stuckey’s best 10-game totals were 284 (28.4) as a freshman and 282 points (28.2 per game) during his sophomore season in 2006-07, prior to heading off to the NBA where he now plays for the Indiana Pacers. McBroom’s top 10-game stretch was 261 points (26.1) in the 2015-16 season, while Harvey had a stretch of 274 (27.4) as a junior in 2014-15 and 247 (24.7) the year before. Wiley’s 83 points against Sacramento State (38 on 2/2/17) and Portland State (45 on 2/4/17) are the most in back-to-back games overall and in conference play in school history, and also a record in the Big Sky. The Big Sky record was previously set by Damian Lillard (now of the Portland Trailblazers), who had 75 in two games in Feb. of 2012 (40 vs. Portland State 2/2 and 35 vs. Northern Colorado 2/4).
- En route to earning Big Sky All-Tournament honors, he had 48 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots in two games, while making 19-of-27 shots from the field (70.4 percent) and 10-of-13 free throws (76.9 percent). He had a 9-of-9 performance against Sacramento State to equal the second-best shooting performance in Big Sky Tournament and school history. Only Jermaine Boyette’s 10-of-10 performance against Idaho State in 2001 was better at the tournament, and Chris White holds EWU’s record with a 10-of-10 performance earlier that same season against Montana State on Feb. 1, 2001.
- Wiley was honored by NCAA.com on Feb. 6 as the National Player of the Week in NCAA Division I for his epic performances in victories over Sacramento State 77-72 and Portland State 130-124 in three overtimes. In addition, ESPN analyst Dick Vitale named him as his National Player of the Week as well. Plus, Wiley was the Mid-Major Player of the Week for the second time in the 2016-17 season as selected by College Sports Madness, and was Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for the third time. He was also named the league’s POW by College Sports Madness. The next day (Feb. 7), Wiley earned prestigious Oscar Robertson Player of the Week honors from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and honor won the previous two seasons by McBroom (2016) and Harvey (2015). No other school in the nation has had three winners of that award. He scored 83 points in those victories to set one of the 11 school records and four Big Sky Conference marks he and his team were involved with. In two games he made 32-of-46 shots from the field (70 percent) and 19-of-25 free throws (76 percent), and averaged 14.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks. His 45 points against Portland State in EWU’s 130-124 triple-overtime victory equaled a school record, which was equaled again in the final seconds when Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with 45. Wiley’s 17 rebounds versus PSU equaled the eighth-most in school history. Wiley had double-doubles in both games. Against Portland State, Wiley made 18-of-23 shots from the floor and 9-of-12 from the line to finish with 45 points and 17 rebounds. Against Sac State, Wiley scored 38, which ranked as the eighth-most in school history (now ninth). He made 14-of-23 from the field and 10-of-13 free throws, and also had 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists.
- Against PSU (2/4/17), Eastern’s 130 points scored set Big Sky and EWU records, as well as the 90 points combined by Wiley and Bliznyuk (they each scored a school record 45). They came just two points from the NCAA record for combined points of 92. Wiley also broke the school record for field goals made with 18, and he and Bliznyuk equaled the EWU record with 53 minutes played each. The 254 combined points by the Vikings and Eagles were also league and school records.
L-C State: Wiley capped a spectacular junior season in 2015-16 by earning first team NAIA All-America honors after averaging 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He led L-C State to a 29-5 record and was the fourth-most accurate shooter (.604) in the NAIA, as well as ranking 20th in blocks per game and 43rd in rebounds per game. He earned first team All-Frontier Conference honors, and was also named to the Academic All-Conference squad. He played at L-C State for former Eagle assistant coach Brandon Rinta, who was the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year in 2015-16. Wiley had career highs of 34 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks during the season. After winning the Frontier Conference title with a 14-14 record, the Warriors advanced to the NAIA Tournament where it beat Xavier (La.) 69-68 in overtime before falling to Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 83-64. In his sophomore season at L-C State, he averaged 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, with highs of 27 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. His .609 shooting percentage ranked fifth in the NAIA and he was 14th in blocked shots per game and 37th in rebounds per game. In an 87-81 EWU victory over L-C State on Dec. 22, 2014, Wiley made 9-of-15 shots from the field and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot versus the Eagles. Eastern led by 13 at halftime, but the Warriors stayed in the game with a 51-point second half. He was the NAIA National Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after leading the Warriors to wins over MSU-Northern 79-52 and 20th-ranked Great Falls 82-65. He averaged 23 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and 1.5 assists in the two games, including 24 points, a season-high 13 boards, four blocks, and three assists against UGF. The Warriors finished the season 25-8 after losing to Westmont (Calif.) 77-60 at the NAIA Tournament.
Montana: He played in 20 games as a true freshman for the Grizzlies in the 2012-13 season, averaging 3.0 minutes, 0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. In two regular season victories over EWU, he played one minute in each. Wiley scored two points in an 81-66 win in Missoula and had a rebound in a 65-46 triumph in Cheney. His career highlight came during Montana’s 2013 NCAA Tournament round game against Syracuse when he scored five points and recorded one block in the 81-34 loss. After quitting the basketball team prior to his sophomore season, he joined the Montana track and field squad and competed in the 400 meters.
High School: Graduated from Newport High School in 2012. Wiley was a three-sport star at Newport High School near Spokane after attending Lakewood High School in Southern California as a freshman. In his senior season at Newport he earned All-State honors and was his team’s captain, MVP and most inspirational player. As a senior he averaged 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots per game while playing for coach Jamie Pancho. He finished his career with more than 1,000 points. He was also an All-State selection as a tight end in football, and was a captain and chosen as the team’s outstanding offensive player. He caught 52 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns, and also scored twice on rushes and two on kickoff returns. He was also a captain in track and field and was the team’s “Golden Spikes Award” winner. He earned a total of four letters in football, three in basketball, and one in track as a high schooler.
Jacob Wiley Double-Doubles (11 in 2016-17; 11 in career - 8-3 record)
24 points, 10 rebounds (vs. Sacramento State 3/9/17)
18 points, 13 rebounds (vs. Southern Utah 3/2/17)
38 points, 15 rebounds (vs. Idaho State 2/25/17)
20 points, 13 rebounds (vs. Weber State 2/23/17)
33 points, 10 rebounds (vs. North Dakota 2/9/17)
45 points, 17 rebounds (vs. Portland State 2/4/17)
38 points, 12 rebounds (vs. Sacramento State 2/2/17)
10 points, 14 rebounds (vs. Montana 1/7/17)
25 points, 10 rebounds (vs. Montana State 1/5/17 . . . also had 7 assists)
14 points, 12 rebounds (vs. Northern Kentucky 12/18/16)
12 points, 12 rebounds (vs. Morehead State 12/13/16)
2016-17 Honors Won By Jacob Wiley
- Honorable mention All-America (March 28 by Associated Press)
- Selected to play in Portsmouth Invitational April 12-15 in Portsmouth, Virginia
- First Team NABC All-District 6 (March 22)
- Big Sky Conference All-Tournament (March 11)
- Mid-Major All-American (March 8 by College Sports Madness)
- Big Sky Conference MVP and Unanimous First Team All-Big Sky (March 6 by coaches) . . . also first team All-Big Sky and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year by HoopsHD.com
- Big Sky Conference Player of the Week by College Sports Madness (Feb. 27) . . . With double-doubles in both games, Wiley had a total of 58 points, 28 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots in EWU’s home sweep of Weber State (89-77) and Idaho State (97-77). He made 22-of-33 shots for 66.7 percent and also sank 14-of-16 free throws for 87.5 percent. He scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds versus Weber State, then had 38 points and 15 rebounds versus Idaho State.
- Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA); National Player of the Week by NCAA.com, National Player of the Week by Dick Vitale; National Mid-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness & Big Sky Conference Player of the Week by CSN and League Office (Feb. 6) . . . Averaged 41.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in two games while making 70 percent of his shots from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line. With double-doubles in each game, he scored 83 points in those victories to set one of the 11 school records and four Big Sky Conference marks he and his team were involved with. His 45 points against Portland State in EWU’s 130-124 triple-overtime victory equaled a school record, which was equaled again in the final seconds when Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with 45. Wiley’s 17 rebounds versus PSU equaled the eighth-most in school history. He also had 38 (now ninth in school history) versus Sacramento State.
- National Mid-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness & Big Sky Conference Player of the Week by CSN and League Office (Jan. 23) . . . Scored 51 points In victories over Northern Arizona (84-62) and Southern Utah (83-68), making 67.7 percent of his shots from the field (21-of-31) and 9-of-10 free throws. He also had 16 rebounds, nine assists, eight blocked shots and a pair of steals. He scored 31 points versus NAU on 14-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
- Big Sky Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 17) . . . Wiley had career-high performances of 27 and 36 points for a combined 63 points in a victory over Idaho State on Jan. 12 and a three-point loss to Weber State two days later. He had only eight misses in 44 total attempts, sinking 78 percent of his shots from the field (25-of-32) and 92 percent of his free throws (11-of-12), making both of his 3-point attempts. He also had 16 rebounds, seven assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals. His performances included 36 points versus Weber State to equal the 16th-most in school history.
- HoopsHD.Com Big Sky Mid-Season All-Big Sky (Dec. 30).
- MVP of Legends Classic Sub-Regional in Cheney (Nov. 22) . . . Finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots, five assists and a pair of steals in an 80-76 double-overtime victory over Seattle in the championship game. The previous night in an 81-77 win over Bryant, he scored 18 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, sinking 10-of-12 free throws and four of seven shots from the floor.
2016-17 Records Broken By Jacob Wiley
EWU -- 265 Field Goals Made,
Jacob Wiley (previous record 205 by Rodney Stuckey in 2006)
EWU -- 94 Blocked Shots,
Jacob Wiley (previous record 69 set by Venky Jois in 2015)
EWU -- 1,395 Combined Points, Bogdan Bliznyuk (701) and
Jacob Wiley (694)
Individual Records Broken in EWU’s 130-124 Victory Over Portland State . . .
Big Sky – 90 combined points,
Jacob Wiley & Bogdan Bliznyuk (previous record unknown, but no two players have scored 41 or more each in the same game)
Big Sky – 83 points in back-to-back Big Sky games
, Jacob Wiley with 38 vs. Sacramento State on 2/2/17 and 45 vs. Portland State on 2/4/17 (previous record 75 set by Damian Lillard with 40 vs. Portland State 2/2/12 and 35 vs. Northern Colorado 2/4/12).
EWU – 90 combined points,
Jacob Wiley & Bogdan Bliznyuk (previous record unknown, but no two Eastern players have scored 31 or more each in the same game).
EWU – 45 points,
Jacob Wiley & Bogdan Bliznyuk (ties record previously set by Rodney Stuckey vs. Northern Arizona, 1/5/06)
EWU – 53 minutes,
Jacob Wiley & Bogdan Bliznyuk (ties record previously set by Shannon Taylor vs. Weber State, 1/16/99)
EWU – 18 field goals made,
Jacob Wiley (previous record 18 set by David Peed vs. UC Irvine, 12/13/88)
EWU – 83 points in back-to-back games,
Jacob Wiley with 38 vs. Sacramento State on 2/2/17 and 45 vs. Portland State on 2/4/17 (previous record 76 set by Venky Jois with 38 vs. Eastern Oregon on 11/30/14 and 38 vs. Seattle on 12/6/14)
- The combined 90 points by Bliznyuk and Wiley was easily a school and Big Sky Conference record, and came just two points from the NCAA Division I mark of 92 set by Kevin Bradshaw (72) & Isaac Brown (20) for U.S. International (now Alliant International) vs. Loyala Marymount on Jan. 5, 1991. Interestingly, they combined for 68 (Bradshaw 37, Brown 31) in a 118-83 loss to Eastern on Feb. 2, 1991, and 39 the year before (Bradshaw 30, Brown 9) in a 102-93 victory over EWU on Dec. 21, 1989.
- With 92 being the NCAA record for combined points, it is the first time in NCAA history two players have scored at least 45 points in the same game. Notre Dame had two players also score 90 on Feb. 23, 1970, in a 121-114 non-overtime win over Butler (Austin Carr with 50 and Collis James with 40). Loyola Marymount’s Bo Kimble and the late Hank Gathers each scored 40 against Gonzaga in 1989, and the Bulldogs also had a 40-point scorer in that game, Doug Spradley. On Feb. 20, 1971, Idaho State’s Willie Humes scored 58 points and MSU’s Bill Brickhouse and Willie Weeks each scored 38 in a 105-92 Bobcat win, also in regulation.
- On Big Sky Conference lists, the 45 points both Bliznyuk and Wiley scored equaled the 12th-most in the 54-year history of the league. Only three players in NCAA Division I (at the time) had scored more than 45 this season, and Wiley’s 18 field goals made were No. 1.
- The 17 rebounds by Jacob Wiley equaled the eighth most in school history.
EWU CAREER LEADERS LIST
Blocked Shots
1. 240 Venky Jois 2013-16
2. 112 Martin Seiferth 2013-14
3. 99 Paul Butorac 2004-07
4. 94 Jacob Wiley 2017
5. 87 Brandon Moore 2007-10
EWU SEASON LEADERS LIST
Scoring
1. 738 Tyler Harvey 2015
2. 726 Rodney Stuckey 2006
3. 712 Rodney Stuckey 2007
4. 701 Bogdan Bliznyuk 2017
5. 694 Jacob Wiley 2017
Scoring Average
1. 24.55 Rodney Stuckey 2007
2. 24.20 Rodney Stuckey 2006
3. 23.06 Tyler Harvey 2015
4. 21.84 Tyler Harvey 2014
5. 20.96 Austin McBroom 2016
6. 20.87 David Peed 1989
7. 20.62 Bogdan Bliznyuk 2017
8. 20.52 Ron Cox 1976
20.52 Randy Buss 1972
10. 20.41 Jacob Wiley 2017
Field Goal Percentage
(Min. 5 Attempts Per Game)
1. 67.90 Venky Jois 2016
2. 66.01 Ron Cox 1977
3. 64.32 Jacob Wiley (#16 Big Sky) 2017
4. 64.00 Paul Butorac 2007
5. 63.37 Ron Cox 1976
Blocked Shots
1. 94 Jacob Wiley (#2 Big Sky) 2017
2. 69 Venky Jois 2015
3. 68 Martin Seiferth 2013
4. 66 Venky Jois 2013
5. 56 Venky Jois 2016
Wiley finished one blocked shot behind the Big Sky Conference record of 95 set by Brian Qvale of Montana in the 2010-11 season
