Who Is Neel Ganta, Illinois Basketball's New Director of Player Personnel?
In a sign of the times in college basketball – and a sign that Illinois is taking seriously data, NIL and other modern developments within the industry – the program hired Neel Ganta as its director of player personnel, coach Brad Underwood announced on Sunday.
Ganta, a graduate manager for the Illini during the 2020-21 season, spent more than three years in the Denver Nuggets' organization, specializing in analytics but working across multiple competencies with the Nuggets and Grand Rapids Gold, Denver's G League affiliate.
In 2020, Ganta, then 22, was included by Seth Davis in a "40 under 40" list of college basketball rising stars – far and away the youngest figure on the list. He has since played a role in lifting the Illini to a Big Ten Championship and NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed (2020-21) and contributing to Denver's first-ever NBA championship (2022-23).
"Neel is on the cutting edge of basketball analytics, strategy and implementation, and he creates outstanding relationships with players, coaches and staff," Underwood said. "He has tremendous experience at his age, helping us win a Big Ten championship and working in a world championship organization with the Denver Nuggets. Our coaching staff knows first-hand the value he adds to the offices and the locker room, and we're excited to welcome him back to Champaign and have him rejoin our family."
Ganta has had a special association with the Underwoods since his years growing up in Manhattan, Kansas, where Brad was on the basketball staff at Kansas State from 2007-2012 and where Ganta befriended and played basketball with Underwood's son, Tyler, now an Illinois assistant. Ganta went on to become a student at K-State, serving as a consultant for Underwood and the Illini while still earning his bachelor's degree in Manhattan.
After his graduate stint in Champaign, he was hired as director of player programs for Grand Rapids, where he created an internal web-app for players. He went on to work on special projects and analytics in the Nuggets' front office, live-scouted games at all levels (including NCAA) and assisted with on-court player development and player relations.
The exact details of Ganta's role are unclear for now, but it's safe to say he'll be heavily involved in data analytics, scouting and, very likely, NIL optimization. Although St. Bonaventure's Adrian Wojnarowski, the former ESPN NBA reporter and insider, is the highest-profile college basketball hire to be named a program's general manager (or similar title), increasingly schools are turning to nimble minds who are capable of straddling the floor and the front office, meshing data insights and Xs and Os. That seems to describe Ganta to a T.
"Neel has a strong passion for winning and learning," Gold president Steve Jbara told Illinois on SI. "Those two attributes in sports go a long way to being successful. He was able to wear a lot of hats in many different sectors of business and basketball in his time with the Gold, all fueled by his appetite to learn those additional roles and ultimately do as much as he can to have a winning org."
Given Illinois' success in the transfer portal and in international recruiting over the past year, expect Ganta to lean into those areas to not only help the Illini continue identifying the best talent but also finding the best player fits. His data insights and decision-making also figure to be critical in NIL "salary cap management" and devising on-court strategies.
"I know the NIL space is a bit of the Wild Wild West currently," Jbara added, "but Neel’s ability to outwork and outlearn other programs will be paramount to U of I’s success moving forward."
Gold Chief Operating Officer Trey Conner also shared his thoughts on working with Ganta, who won't be building from the ground up for the first time.
"I feel the characteristic that stood out the most was his ability to be a forward thinker and have foresight with the team's best interest in [mind]," Conner told Illinois on SI. "With it being the first year the Nuggets had a G League team, Neel was able to establish standards and protocols to allow operations to flow smoothly."
Conner called Ganta "a leader people naturally enjoy following," citing "his likability and his selflessness as a person."