Neel Ganta returned to Illinois on Dec. 29, 2024 as Director of Player Personnel. 

Ganta reunited with Underwood and the Fighting Illini program, where he served as graduate manager during the 2020-21 season when Illinois led the Big Ten in wins and won the Big Ten Tournament Championship, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Ganta arrived back in Champaign after three-plus years with the Denver Nuggets organization. He began with their G League affiliate, Grand Rapids Gold, as director of player programs. While there he created an internal web-app utilized by players and assisted on team analytics needs. 

He moved up to the Nuggets in May 2022, serving as basketball strategy & analytics coordinator and pro scout. Ganta worked on special projects and analytics for the Nuggets front office and live scouted games at all levels. He also assisted with on-court player development and player relations. 

Ganta’s time in Denver was highlighted by the Nuggets winning the 2023 NBA Championship. 

A native of Manhattan, Kansas, he served as a consultant to Underwood and the Illini program during the 2019-20 season while he was a student at K-State. During his time as an undergrad, Ganta fulfilled a pair of internships with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and served summer finance internships with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2018 and the Boston Celtics in 2019. 

Ganta graduated from Kansas State University in May 2020, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in computer science and certificates in data analytics and investment management. 

Ganta earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in August 2021 in technology management with a concentration in business data analytics.