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.[1] He then began his college career at St. Bonaventure University.
College career
St. Bonaventure (2001–2003)
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.[1] With NCAA sanctions hanging over the program, several players, including Gansey, jumped ship immediately after that season.[2] Once he announced his intention to transfer, he was pursued especially hard by WVU coach John Beilein,[3] 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 (2003–2006)
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[4] as well as an AP Honorable Mention All-American.[5] He was one of ten finalists for the Oscar Robertson Award,[6] a finalist for the Wooden Award,[7] as well as a finalist for the Naismith Trophy.[8]
Professional career
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,[9] 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.[10]
Gansey played for the Los Angeles Clippers on their 2007 NBA Vegas Summer League team.[11] After the summer league was over, he signed a contract for the 2007–08 season with the Italian team Indesit Fabriano.
On April 13, 2017, Gansey was named the NBA Development League's Basketball Executive of the Year, as selected by his fellow NBA G League basketball executives. As general manager of the Canton Charge, Gansey presided over a Charge team that amassed a 29–21 regular season record, securing Canton's sixth-consecutive trip to the NBA D-League postseason as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Hired as the team's general manager prior to the 2015–16 season, Gansey held a leadership role in the Charge's front office since 2012.[14]
