November 16 Notebook
November 16, 2004 03:22 PM | General
November 16, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – While watching West Virginia’s exhibition performance Monday night against a not-so-good Pan American University team, I couldn’t help but think that junior guard/forward Mike Gansey bore an uncanny resemblance to former WVU player Dale Blaney.
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| Mike Gansey slams home two of his team-high 22 points Monday night against Pan American University.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
Blaney played for Gale Catlett’s outstanding Mountaineer teams of 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986, helping West Virginia to four straight post-season trips including three NCAA tournament appearances.
Like Blaney (a Hartford, Ohio native not far from Youngstown), Gansey came from Eastern Ohio (from Olmsted Falls located near Cleveland). Both stand 6-feet-4 with long arms and a slender build.
Both can jump out of the gym and both seem to find a way to come up with loose basketballs. Both also possess high basketball IQs.
Therefore, I went to the man most qualified to make an assessment of the two players: Mountaineer Athletic Club senior director Gary McPherson, who actually recruited Blaney while he was a member of Catlett’s WVU coaching staff.
McPherson says he hasn’t seen Gansey play enough to make a definitive assessment: “Last night was really the only time I’ve watched (Gansey) in a game,” he said. “He has kind of a nose for the ball. A lot of people have to block out and do stuff to get the ball and he kind of has an instinct to go get it.
“I don’t know if he can handle the ball as well as Blaney and Dale played more out on the perimeter,” McPherson mentioned. “But they do have the same type of build and athletic ability.”
The other contrast in the two player’s games may be shooting range. Blaney was a 50-percent shooter for his career. Gansey missed all four of his three-point field goal attempts Monday night, though in pre-game warm-ups he barely missed from behind the arc.
“A couple of my shots I don’t think I got enough arc on it. I guess that will come,” Gansey said. “To be honest I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game.”
Coach John Beilein, for one, is convinced Gansey can become a great outside shooter and has given him the green light to shoot the basketball.
“He says if you have a good shot shoot it,” Gansey said. “Even though I was missing I’ve still got to take that next shot.”
McPherson remembers Dale Blaney being a long-shot recruit for the Mountaineers back in the spring of 1982. Blaney played at a very small high school (Kinsman-Badger) where the competition was suspect. He was asked to play center on defense and brought the ball up the court on offense.
“When I recruited him he played just about every place,” McPherson remembered. “It was a matter of trying to decide whether he could go out to the perimeter and play in college that was the biggest decision I had to make.”
McPherson also had to convince Catlett to take a chance on Blaney; Catlett’s roster was seemingly set with five guards already in the program.
“There were a couple of guys who had called me about Blaney,” McPherson said. “I didn’t act on it for a couple of months because we weren’t recruiting guards. They pestered me enough so I gave them my word that I would go up and see him practice. I got there late and all I got to see him do was defensive drills.”
But Blaney caught McPherson’s eye and his performance in a post-season all-star game soon attracted the interest of Georgia. That was enough for West Virginia to sign a sixth guard and Blaney turned out to be one of Gale Catlett’s best-ever players.
He averaged 17 points per game as a senior in 1986 to earn first team all-Atlantic 10 honors. In addition to being a lights-out shooter, Blaney was equally adept at taking the ball to the hoop and dunking on people. He finished his career with 1,520 career points and also contributed 331 rebounds, 331 assists and 42 steals.
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| Guard Dale Blaney led West Virginia in scoring in 1986 with an average of 17 points per game.
WVU Sports Communications photo |
If you’re under the age of 30 you might have a tough time remembering Dale Blaney, but take my word for it: he was a tremendously well-rounded player who actually had the Los Angeles Lakers team made in 1987 if not for a distaste for the NBA lifestyle. Today he is a sprint-car racer.
Mike Gansey isn’t interested in driving sprint cars, but he does have some of Blaney’s well-rounded qualities on the basketball court. Those close to the program say he is notorious for going through a game unnoticed. Then you look at his stat sheet and he's put up 20, grabbed six rebounds, handed out five assists, blocked a couple of shots and made three or four steals.
After a single public appearance one local sportswriter has already given Gansey the label ‘garbage player’ for his ability to collect loose balls and score easy buckets inside.
“I like that,” Gansey says of the tag. “A garbage player is an honor I guess. It seems like a blue collar type of role and I like the role of being a dirty-work guy: Someone who gets offensive rebounds, dives on the floor and stuff like that.”
A particular play stood out Monday night against Pan American University. With West Virginia already leading by 40 points Gansey dove for a loose ball. He came up with it and flicked it to Joe Herber, who got the ball down court to Darris Nichols for a slam dunk.
The crowd got up and applauded Gansey’s supreme effort.
“I think that’s what the crowd likes and I like playing that way – getting on the floor and mixing it up,” Gansey said.
In addition to mixing it up, Gansey has already produced at a high level against quality competition. While at St. Bonaventure, he scored 16 points including making the game-tying three-point basket at the buzzer against Boston College. He scored a career-high 27 points in a victory against Michigan, making all five of his three-point field goal attempts. In 2003 as a sophomore Gansey ranked 12th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (13.9 ppg.) and 20th in rebounding (5.0).
He was also eighth in three-point field goal percentage (40.2) lending more credence to the notion that he is a very capable three-point shooter.
For his part, Gansey just wants to fit in, get a better grasp of the offense and help the Mountaineers to a winning season this year.
“I still struggle a lot with some of the stuff we want to do but every day it seems like I’m picking up a different thing and getting better in certain areas,” he said.
The man he needs to impress most – John Beilein – agrees. “He’s like anyone playing in their first year in that he will struggle with what we do. It’s pretty complex and it’s getting more complex every year. He’s starting to see and do some things lately that are encouraging.”
Just like Dale Blaney 18 years ago, I have a strong suspicion Mountaineer basketball fans are going to take a liking to Mike Gansey’s style of play.
You, too, may notice some similarities.
