2009-10 Players in Review: Mike Gansey

Gansey was acquired by the BayHawks in a Dec. 31 trade that sent Erie's number one draft pick, Donell Taylor, to the Idaho Stampede. At the time of the trade, I was a bit skeptical since Taylor was a focal point of Erie's offense and Gansey was a sixth round pick by Idaho.

Fortunately, Gansey's arrival in Erie unleashed the player that helped West Virginia make an Elite Eight and Sweet 16 appearance in back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006. In 27 games as a BayHawk, Gansey averaged 18.4 points per game, highest among those who played at least 15 games with the team. He hit 59-181 3s (32.6 percent) and shot 83.1 percent from the line. But beyond the stats, what he gave Erie was the outside shooting threat that they did not have before acquiring him.

For the season, Gansey's 7.1 rebounds per game ranked him second in the D-League among guards. He actually averaged even better rebounding numbers with the BayHawks (8.2).

Gansey's best stretch of play came early in March. In six games, he averaged 26.2 points while shooting 18-37 from 3-point range, 10.5 rebounds, and 2 steals and led the BayHawks to a 5-1 record. He also earned D-League Performer of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 25, which was highlighted by the game against Springfield when he hit the game winning layup with just 8 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately, Gansey's time with the BayHawks was limited due to injury and illness. He missed 10 games in all.

Still, Gansey was one of the most valuable BayHawks this season and that's before you factor in the entertaining and informative blog he wrote over at Ridiculous Upside. After spurning the BayHawks in their inaugural season and choosing to play overseas after they made him their number one pick, Gansey won over the fans and organization with strong play on the court and great personality off it.

He showed glimpses of being NBA-caliber this season. Hopefully he's back in Erie next season to put together that same type of performance on a game-to-game basis and earn a shot at the next level.