As I previewed yesterday, Mike Gansey will occasionally be checking in with RU throughout the rest of the D-League season (and hopefully beyond).  Without further adieu, D-League Performer of the Week and co-star of this commercial, Mr. Gansey. -- Scott

First things first. I would like to thank the RU staff for letting me update you readers on my world as well as give you some insight on life in the D-league.

I played my college ball at West Virginia (yes, you read that right - we are #6 in the latest rankings) and since then have played all over in Italy, Germany and now in the D-league.  I was with the Idaho Stampede earlier in the year but was traded and now am currently an Erie BayHawk.

I have loved every minute being here in Erie. It is a class act organization and has some great fans. I am from the great city of Olmsted Falls, Ohio so it is very close to home and family and friends can come see me play. Playing everyday for Coach John Treloar and with my teammates has really been fun, and hopefully over the second half of this season we can string some wins together.

We just got back from a road trip to Maine and Springfield. Now I do not know who does the scheduling for the D-league games but this trip was crazy. We played at Maine on Friday at 7:30pm. After the game we drove vans to Springfield, which was about a 3-hour drive so we didn't get to the hotel until 2:30am! I pretty much took a nap, woke up, and we tipped off at 1pm.

By my calculation that is 2 games in about less than 18 hours!!! Imagine how myself and my teammates felt warming up before the game? Because we are in such great shape (thanks Coach Mac) we ended up winning the game in Springfield and finally got some rest. But, as I will write, the D-league travel is always quite an experience.

Maybe I am biased, but Jackie Manuel is hands down the best defender in the D-league. It is amazing how many games we have won with him stopping guys at the end of games. An unbelievable teammate but what is going on with his North Carolina Tar Heels this year?

I would like to give a shout out to my favorite blogger and fellow D-Leaguer, Fort Wayne Mad Ants Center Jared Reiner. We played together in Germany last year and he really encouraged me to try this. Thanks buddy! [Scott's note: Amazingly, Reiner updated his DraftExpress Blog today, so check that out.]

Talk to you soon...