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LOOKING BACK
Kyle's parents, Terry and Carol Ganton, talk about Kyle's early sports activities with fond remembrance. With an older brother and three older sisters involved in sports, Kyle was a regular in the bleachers early on.
"We weren't at all surprised when his first word was BALL!" At age three they hung a basketball hoop on the stairway door and taped a three-point arch on the floor; the half court games began. Not until he left for college did that hoop come down and door get replaced – too many slam dunks.
EARLY SPORTS GOALS
When Kyle was growing up in Michigan, he wanted to play in the NBA, the NFL, and be a major league baseball player. (We can be glad he ended up playing basketball.) In the winter, he would shovel the snow off the drive just so he could shoot baskets.
Kyle's parents say he started basketball with an AAU team in the 6th grade, which soon led to a successful high school career at Bronson High School (MI). Kyle says he enjoyed high school ball because "I got to shoot the ball every time down the court."
Kyle became a well respected individual and athlete in the local sports community as well as the school, and was offered several college basketball opportunities.
HUNTINGTON CONNECTION
Kevin Williams, who played at Huntington with Coach Platt, was Kyle's 7th grade basketball coach. So, when Kyle got to High School, Kevin contacted Coach Platt and suggested that he might want to come up and take a look at "this farm kid."
Coach Platt did that and the rest is history. After Kyle became acquainted with the school and some of the players, he decided Huntington was right. He liked Coach Platt and the players were the type of young men with whom he wanted to associate.
That got his mother’s approval; she thought Huntington would be perfect for him. As Carol says, "Kyle has been blessed with an
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an ability to make good choices and coming to Huntington was certainly one of them."
SUCCESS ON THE COURT
Like many players, Kyle has a ritual that he follows before each game. First, he washes his hands with hot water so "I feel like I have the hot hand." Then after warm-ups, "I give Doug Sheckler a hug and together we sing the national anthem." Hey, it works.
Ganton’s basketball career at Huntington has been very impressive. Not only has he been a team leader for several seasons and has three HU records bearing his name, but he has received awards and recognition at both the Conference and the NAIA level.
Kyle is a two-time NAIA All-American and a three-time All-MCC Conference player. He was also the runner up to Alex Kock for the MCC Player of the Year this season.
He got the 2,000th point of his college career in an important win over Indiana Wesleyan, but says he was more concerned about getting the win, although "it was nice to be recognized by the fans."
HUNTINGTON RECORDS
Kyle scored 2,126 points in his basketball career, becoming the 6th all-time leading scorer at Huntington. He was one of the team’s free throw percentage leaders every year, hitting 90.8% as a freshman, 86.8% as a sophomore, 87.6% as a junior and 90.1% as a senior (#3 in all NAIA D2).
Altogether, he made 482 of his 544 free throw attempts over four years for 88.6% at the line, putting him in the HU record book as having the highest free throw shooting percentage in a career.
Kyle also set a record last season with his three-point shooting, hitting 49.7% of his long range shots, and set a record for the highest free throw percentage in a single game this season by going 13 for 13 in a win over Georgetown (KY).
In spite of personal achievements, Kyle has this to say about the records. "The one I'm
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Kyle Ganton - 2007
#3 - Kyle Ganton
Kyle Ganton |
