Perhaps Mike Gansey's slight build was one reason he didn't make the NBA as a player.
Yet look within that league these days.
The former WVU Mountaineer is standing tall as an executive. And while the NBA winds of change continue to be harsh, he's holding ground within the back-to-back-to-back Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers' front office.
In fact, he's flourishing in his role.
As the general manager of the Canton Charge, Gansey was named the NBA Developmental League Executive of the Year after helping the team to its sixth consecutive playoff berth.
Gansey was honored after juggling a team that used 19 different players in 18 different starting lineups and retooling a coaching staff before the season after three coaches received NBA call-ups.
Now, he's helping Cavs point man Koby Altman keep the NBA team afloat after owner Dan Gilbert released former general manager David Griffith. Negotiations with Chauncey Billups have been ongoing.
"We're a little undermanned right now, but we're fighting through it," Gansey said on Tuesday. "Obviously, part of the business is when people are let go. I'm trying to help where I can. We're getting ready for free agency and we just finished the draft. The summer league is coming up. I'm just taking it day by day."
So far, so good for the 34-year-old Gansey.
"I'm the general manager at Canton and then I'm like a college scout," he explained. "During the season I'm constantly at college, D-League games or some NBA games. I travel internationally. I work our summer league games with the Cavs. I may have the GM/college scout title, but I have a hat in a little bit of everything. I'm fortunate to have a little more responsibility. Whatever they need, I'm there to help."
Gansey is writing quite a career story for himself.
He grew up in Olmstead Falls, Ohio - which is 18 miles south of Cleveland - and played basketball, first at St. Bonaventure and then for coach John Beilein at WVU.
In Morgantown, he helped West Virginia put together dream seasons along with running mate Kevin Pittsnogle and others. Back in 2015, in fact, Cleveland.com said Gansey was the star of the best college basketball game ever played in the town. It was the day Gansey and WVU took down Chris Paul and Wake Forest in double overtime in the 2005 NCAA tournament at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center. Gansey had 19 of his 29 points in overtime.
"I miss those days very much, that's for sure," Gansey said. "I miss the fans, my coaches and teammates. I mean, looking back, I wish I could return for one week, one month, just to be back in the Mountaineer uniform and play in front of those great fans.
"I keep in touch with all my former teammates, but last year I got back to [Morgantown to] play an alumni game with Darris [Nichols], Tyrone [Salley] and Rob Summers. Just to be on the floor - even though we were out of shape and not the same kind of players - was great.
"It's kind of surreal. I do a lot of college scouting and go to all these games and tournaments. To think, man, I was a part of that is really something. We got to the second weekend [of the NCAA tournament] twice. We were on ESPN all the time. It's surreal looking back."
Gansey was signed as an undrafted free agent afterward by the Miami Heat in July of 2006, but his slight frame and a life-threatening staph infection sidelined his efforts. He did rebound, however, to play in Italy and the D-League before one fateful day.
"I was still playing and knew a couple people in the Cavs' front office," Gansey said. "It was the year [2011] of the [NBA] lockout and I was still debating whether to keep playing. In the beginning of December the Cavs needed to hire a couple front-office interns. Obviously I'd been at the facilities in the past working out. I was lucky enough that they would let me work out there in the summer, fall and spring.
"So they had an opening and it was something I'd always had interest in. I interviewed for it and they offered me the job. It was kind of a right-place, right-time deal. It's so hard to get in the NBA. Nowadays, it's damn near impossible. I got really, really lucky and had someone that liked me and I'm still here."
Wes Wilcox, who was recently released as the GM of the Atlanta Hawks, first tabbed Gansey, while Griffin and his assistant Trent Redden helped. Wilcox had been the general manager of the D-League Erie Bayhawks, where Gansey played in 2009-10.
Fast forward to now. Gansey has an NBA championship ring for helping with last season's title. He's with a team sporting superstar LeBron James. And it's his home.
"Me being a Clevelander made last year surreal," Gansey said. "Three straight [NBA] Finals is something people in this league for 20-some years don't get to experience once. I feel like I'm pretty lucky, blessed.
"Every day I kind of wake up and pinch myself. I'm watching the greatest player in the world and he's on my team. You can't take it for granted because he's a once-in-a-generation player and it's special to watch. He's not only a great player, but a great person, worker and teammate too. He's everything you'd want. I'm very, very lucky."
It's also special the Mountain State has yet another NBA connection.
"There's a lot of West Virginia people," Gansey said. "I saw Jonnie [West] and Jerry [West] at the Finals. I see Chris [Wallace] every once in a while. It's pretty special."
Jonnie West is an assistant GM of the NBA D-League (now Gatorade League) Golden State affiliate Santa Cruz. His father Jerry has decided to wrap up his Hall of Fame career by taking a job with the Los Angeles Clippers. And Wallace, a Buckhannon native, is the GM of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies.
"There's a connection after wearing the Mountaineer uniform," Gansey said. "[Princeton native] Rod Thorn is [a special consultant] with the Milwaukee Bucks. There are quite bit of West Virginia-NBA connections - and they've all been very successful.
"I know Jonnie and I would love to follow in their footsteps."
And so far for Gansey, so good.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.