GNAC Student-Athlete Spotlight - Brandon Ganesh

The agony of a serious injury for an athlete is often exacerbated by the pain of having to sit on the sidelines while they watch their teammates push through triumphs and defeats.

That was the plight of Lasell College guard Brandon Ganesh a year ago when he missed half of the season with a broken leg. Instead of sulking, Ganesh used the adversity as a learning opportunity.

"It taught me to be more of a leader vocally, on the court and off the court. Lead by example whether you are in or out of the game," Ganesh said. "It showed me I need to work on this or that. Maybe if I didn't get hurt I wouldn't have improved my jump shot. It helped me become mentally tougher."

Now, a year later, Ganesh is making up for lost time by playing as much as he can. The senior ranks second in the GNAC in minutes per game at just over 35. Even though he loves to be on the court, Ganesh will do anything to help the team whether that means playing from the tip off to the final buzzer or only logging five minutes of playing time.

That team-first trait was instilled in him by his father, a basketball coach for many years, who told Ganesh that if you're on a team you don't have any individual goals. It is also reflected in Ganesh's reaction to being named GNAC player of the week twice.

"You see your name in a player of the week thing and you wanna do it over and over again and win games," Ganesh said.  "If we don't win I won't be happy. If I play well and we don't win then it's not a good game."

Ganesh has been a key part of the Lasers fast start in the GNAC this season as he averages 22.5 points per game, good for second in the conference.

One of his best performances came in a double overtime thriller against Mount Ida that saw Ganesh drop nine of his team's 12 points in the second overtime to help secure the win.

"I got fouled and once I saw the ball go into the hoop it gave me a lot of confidence," Ganesh said. "I was able to hit a couple open jump shots and that gave me confidence. And my teammates were saying, 'if you're open Brandon shoot it,' and I fed off what they were saying too."

That win was one of seven Lasell has already notched this season, matching last year's total for the entire year. It may be a good start but it's not going to the team's head.

"Just because we won a couple this year doesn't reflect on what we've done before. The season is far from over," Ganesh said.

Part of the team's turnaround has come as result of new attitude for the Lasers that has come from buying into Head Coach Aaron Galletta's philosophy.

"He wants us to be a very tenacious team," Ganesh said. "Be aggressive defensively and run his offense. A team with an attitude and everybody be all in. Our coaches say to us, play hard , play smart, do what your told and the scoreboard will take care of itself."

He has also put a big chip on their shoulders, reminding them that they have been at the bottom of the GNAC for many years.

"All athletes hate being told you're not good. It makes you wanna work harder to be the best," Ganesh said.

As a team captain, Ganesh has had a pivotal role in helping instill that attitude in his teammates. An experienced team featuring 12 out of 15 players returning from last season, Ganesh saw that everybody knew what had to be done to improve from last season.

For Ganesh, the captaincy was not a big change for him because he had stepped up as a leader last season and was confident he would be in this position as a senior.

Even though there are no freshmen on the roster, Ganesh has tried to serve as a mentor for the other players. On the court he takes pride in being the player everyone else looks to if they miss a defensive play call from the coach. Off the court he has made it a point to go beyond just saying hello to his teammates when he sees them on campus. Instead he tries to engage them about class and other things to make sure they are doing well.

The Lasers will enter the heart of their schedule in the next few weeks and Ganesh is ready to put all the doubters to the test.

"We want to make the conference tournament and then beyond that to the NCAA tournament," Ganesh said. "Hopefully shock some people and win that too."

*Written by GNAC Communications Specialist, Eddie Lockhart