Mike Gansey

Mike Gansey
Canton Charge
Position Shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1982-12-21) December 21, 1982
Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school Olmsted Falls
(Olmsted Falls, Ohio)
College St. Bonaventure (2001–2003)
West Virginia (2004–2006)
NBA draft 2006 / Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present
Career history
2007–2008 Indesit Fabriano
2008 Anaheim Arsenal
2008–2009 Eisbaren Bremerhaven
2009 Idaho Stampede
2009–2010 Erie BayHawks
2010–2011 CB 1939 Canarias
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
2005 Izmir National team

Michael Gansey (born December 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball player. He played for the Los Angeles Clippers on their 2007 NBA Vegas Summer League team.[1] After the summer league was over, he signed a contract for the 2007–08 season with the Italian team Indesit Fabriano. He played college basketball as a shooting guard for the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and the West Virginia University Mountaineers.

The 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 188 lb (85 kg) guard emerged as a national star for the Mountaineers during his tenure at WVU. Although it was speculated that he may get drafted as high as late first round in the 2006 NBA Draft, Gansey, along with his West Virginia teammate Kevin Pittsnogle, went undrafted. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Heat in July 2006,[2] and played in summer league games, but was waived before the season. Mike was waived after having a life-threatening staph infection that limited his play.[3]

On September 24, 2008, Gansey was selected by the Erie Bayhawks with the first overall pick in the expansion draft.[4] One of Gansey's brothers, Steve Gansey, played NCAA Division II basketball for the Ashland Eagles, after playing his freshman and sophomore years with the Division I Cleveland State Vikings. He is the general manager of the NBA Development League's Canton Charge.[5]

Early years

Gansey, who grew up in the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Olmsted Falls, was a three-time All-State player at Olmsted Falls High School, including first-team honors in his final two years. He is the school's all-time leading scorer at 1,909 points for his career. In his senior season, he averaged 27.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, and was named the state's Division II Player of the Year, finishing second in Mr. Basketball voting behind LeBron James.[6] He then began his college career at St. Bonaventure University.

St. Bonaventure

In Gansey's freshman season of 2001-02, he averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, mainly coming off the bench, and was named to the all-newcomer team in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The following season (2002–03), he became a regular starter, averaging 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds, and also shooting just over 40% from three-point range. However, the St. Bonaventure basketball program would be rocked by an academic scandal during that season, when it was revealed that a junior-college transfer had been admitted to the university by virtue of a welding certificate. With NCAA sanctions hanging over the program, several players, including Gansey, jumped ship immediately after that season.[7] Once he announced his intention to transfer, he was pursued especially hard by WVU coach John Beilein,[8] who was coaching in the A-10 at Richmond during Gansey's freshman year at St. Bonaventure. Gansey would enroll at West Virginia University.

West Virginia

After sitting out the 2003-04 season as required under NCAA transfer rules, Gansey entered the Mountaineers' starting lineup. During the summer of 2004, the team toured Europe (all Division I teams are allowed one offseason overseas trip every four years); Gansey scored 22 points in his first game as a Mountaineer, against the Netherlands national team. He went on to lead the Mountaineers in scoring on the tour at 15.5 points per game.

In his first season at WVU, he averaged 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds, leading the team in rebounds and becoming a crowd favorite for his hustling play. During a strong late-season run, Gansey and teammate Kevin Pittsnogle were the main keys to turning the Mountaineers from an NCAA tournament "bubble team" to a regional finalist that lost its bid for the Final Four in overtime against Louisville. During the offseason, Gansey played on the gold medal-winning USA team at the World University Games in Turkey.

The 2005-06 season promised to be a big season for the Mountaineers, who were returning four of their starting five and virtually all their roster. As the Mountaineers were reaching heights in the national rankings they had not seen since the early 1980s and gaining a level of national publicity they had last seen in the days of Jerry West in the late 1950s, Gansey stepped up his game to a new level. As of February 9, 2006, he was averaging 18.5 points while taking fewer than 12 shots per game, and adding 5.5 rebounds per game. More remarkably, Gansey was shooting 59.7% from the field, making him the only player in NCAA Division I under 6'5" (1.96 m) in the top 50 in the nation in field-goal percentage. WVU made the Sweet 16 of the 2006 NCAA Tournament before losing to the Texas Longhorns on a buzzer-beating 3 pointer.

Gansey had the 18th highest career scoring average at WVU (14.35), the ninth best field goal percentage in a career (52.6%), the third best 3-point field goal percentage in a career (39.4%), the seventh most steals per game in a career (1.75) and the 12th most minutes per game in a career (32.12). Gansey was named First-team All Big-East[9] as well as an All-American.[10] He was one of ten finalists for the Oscar Robertson Award,[11] a finalist for the Wooden Award,[12] as well as a finalist for the Naismith Trophy.[13]

NBA D-League

Erie Bayhawks

On September 24, 2008, Gansey was selected with the Erie Bayhawks' first round pick in the 2008 expansion draft.[4]

Idaho Stampede

On November 5, 2009, Gansey was drafted by Idaho Stampede in the 2009 D-league draft.[4]

Professional career

In 2007-08 season, he goes to Italy to play in Fabriano Basket. The following 2008-09 season he goes to Germany and plays for Eisbaren Bremerhaven in the top division of the BBL. In the 2009-10 he goes to play in Chengdu, China for the NBA China Challenge. Later, in the 2009-10 season, he signs with Ciudad de La Laguna Canarias, team of LEB Oro.

References

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