Mike Gansey, who led WVU to the 2005 NCAA Elite Eight and the 2006 NCAA Sweet 16, is just one of nine Mountaineer basketball players to start every game of his WVU career.
Starting 68 games at WVU after transferring from St. Bonaventure, Gansey reached double figures in 25 games during the 2004-05 season, averaging 12.0 points per contest and scoring the most points on the team with 421. He led the Mountaineers in field goals (160), rebounds (180), rebounding average (5.1) and steals (57). Gansey led WVU to the championship game of the Big East Tournament and then to the NCAA Elite Eight, narrowly missing a spot in the NCAA Final Four with an overtime loss to Louisville. It was WVU’s highest finish in the NCAA Tournament since 1959.
In 2005-06, the Olmsted Falls, Ohio, native led the Mountaineers in scoring (16.8), rebounding (5.7), steals (62), rebounds (189), field goal percentage (55.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (42.9). Gansey made 75 three-point field goals, the fifth most in a season at WVU, and scored double figures in 30 games. He led the Mountaineers to the NCAA Sweet 16 with the Mountaineers falling on a buzzer beater to Texas in Atlanta.
Gansey was a part of 13 wins over ranked teams at WVU in two seasons. He hit the game-winning free throws against No. 19 Villanova in the semifinals of the 2005 Big East Tournament, scored 29 points in front of family and friends at Cleveland in a 111-105 win over No. 5 Wake Forest in the NCAA Second Round, defeated No. 7 Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, scored 21 points in WVU’s win at No. 3 Villanova and secured a late steal to preserve and score 24 points in WVU’s win at No. 18 UCLA in historic Pauley Pavilion.
At the time, Gansey tied a WVU school record when he hit eight 3-point field goals to finish with a career-high 33 points against Marquette on Jan. 14, 2006. He currently ranks fourth in career 3-point shooting at WVU at 39.4 percent.
Gansey finished with 976 points in his two seasons at WVU, and counting his two years at St. Bonaventure, scored 1,600 career points. He was a part of the 2005 USA World University Games team that won a Gold medal in Turkey, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
In 2006, Gansey was named to the All-Big East First Team and was tabbed to the Big East All-Tournament Team in 2005. He was a two-time selection to the Big East Academic All-Star Team. In 2006, Gansey was a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Award, the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy.
Gansey graduated from WVU in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology. Following his WVU career, he played professionally overseas for three seasons and in the NBA G League for two.
Gansey has served as the assistant general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers since July 2017. He was previously general manager for the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively-owned NBA G League team, where he earned the 2016-17 NBA G League Executive of the Year award. Gansey presided over a Charge team that amassed a 29-21 regular-season record, securing Canton’s sixth consecutive trip to the NBA G League postseason that year.
Gansey held a leadership role in the Charge’s front office for five seasons (2012-2017), including two seasons as the general manager and three as director of G League operations. In addition to his role with the Charge, Gansey also served as a scout for the Cavaliers. He had previously spent the 2011-12 season as the Cavaliers’ basketball operations seasonal assistant.
In Gansey’s five seasons with Canton, the team had great success on the court. The Charge won a franchise-record 31 games twice (2014-15 and 2015-16), reached the postseason in all five seasons (the only NBA G League team to do so over that span) and reached the conference finals twice.
He was named a member of the Mountaineer Legends Society in 2018.
