The 2006 NBA Draft has come and gone without WVU's Mike Gansey or Kevin Pittsnogle being drafted. Based on their success in college and the mock drafts that were online, I'm really surprised that neither one was drafted.According to ESPN's top 100 rankings, Gansey is by far the highest rated player who wasn't drafted. For comparison purposes, Gansey was rated 17 spots higher than Renaldo Balkman who was drafted 20th overall by the NY Knicks, despite averaging less than 10 points per game at South Carolina.
I can't believe some of the players who were drafted ahead of WVU's dynamic duo. The second round was filled with an assortment of players who did not have nearly as much success in college and various international players who played in places like the ultra competitive Senegal and Nigerian basketball leagues.
Gansey and Pittsnogle outplayed several of the drafted players on the court, and proved in the Big East and NCAA tournament that they could play competitively with even the elite players who were lottery picks.
Hopefully, both players will sign Free Agent contracts and have an opportunity to play in "the league". Perhaps, signing with a team that's a better fit for their skills than if they were locked into a specific team as a draft pick.
I would especially like for Gansey to have a shot in Cleveland near his hometown and give Lebron James someone to kick the ball out to for the three pointer ala Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr/John Paxson.
Perhaps Kevin and Mike should heed the advice was offered in a comment on BlueGoldNews.com, suggesting that they move to Europe, change their names to Mikhail Gansevsky and Kevon P'Tsnogle', and declare themselves eligible for the 2007 draft. As foreign players, they are guaranteed to be top 10 lottery picks next year.
Good luck "Mikhail" and "Kevon"! I'm eager to see where you will be playing next year.
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