Galal Cancer hates it when people say academics were purely the reason he left the Cornell basketball team with just two games remaining in his sophomore season.

When he walked into head coach Bill Courtney’s office in early March 2013, Cancer said everything he hadn’t in his previous three or four talks with his coach. The frustration, the pressure, the disappointment — everything spilled out.

Overwhelmed by the combination of his team’s struggles, his struggles on the court and his performance academically, Cancer said he wanted to leave the team.

Courtney felt he was making a rash mistake.

“I’d never let something like that get to me before, so I had to take a step back and evaluate,” Cancer said. “It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made in my life. But I won’t allow myself not to perform to my ability in both (basketball and school).”

When Cancer left, there was no certainty he’d return. Nearly 18 months after the coach gave up on him, though, Cancer was back on the team after being forced to try out and switch positions. The senior guard leads the team in steals and is third in 3-point shooting percentage, scoring and minutes played. He’ll continue his comeback when the Big Red (6-6) travels to play Syracuse (8-4) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

Despite disagreeing with Cancer’s decision, Courtney didn’t fault him for making it. He just didn’t plan on ever bringing him back.

“I had to be bigger than that and understand,” Courtney said. “If (Cancer) would’ve said, after two or three months, he wanted to come back then yeah, we would’ve let him back on the team.”

But Cancer missed that window. Courtney gave up. He had to move on.

Cancer had more free time than he’d ever had. He worked out four times per week, 2-3 hours at a time, refined his jump shot and ravenously consumed film of NBA games.

But he was feeling basketball’s tug. Newman Arena, Cornell’s home court, beckoned. He let himself be lured in, going to see his former teammates play.

“That was torture for me,” Cancer said. “The most painful part of the experience was seeing my boys finish with that (2-26) record.”

Devin Cherry, Cancer’s best friend and replacement at point guard, went to Cancer’s room after many games during that bitter season.

Cherry vented his frustrations. Cancer said he wished he was playing. Then the two would work out, with Cherry keeping Cancer updated on what happened in Cornell practices.

“To me, it was just like he was on the team, even though he technically wasn’t,” Cherry said.

In June, Cancer decided he wanted to come back. Again he stood, darkening Courtney’s doorway unannounced.

But Courtney told him rejoining wasn’t going to happen unless he tried out.

The first phase was ensuring that his teammates wanted him back. Cancer had to call each teammate — including the freshmen he didn’t know — and ask if they’d be OK if he returned.

They were. That, along with his willingness to do such a task, made Courtney think things may go differently.

As Cancer worked his summer job on campus, he appeared in the gym frequently with teammates. He told Courtney he’d come back under whichever role given, even if he never played a minute.

“It’s a testament to him that he was able to do all these things even though I told him, ‘I’m probably not taking you back,’” Courtney said. “But the summer went on and school started and he was basically a member of the team by then. He ingratiated himself back into the mix.”

But he’d have to switch positions. Cancer had been a point guard basically his whole life, but Cherry drove the offense now. Armed with his refined jumper, Cancer transitioned to shooting guard. In nearly the same volume of attempts, he has upped his percentage from 3-point range from 29.2 percent his sophomore year to 39.1 percent this season.

Defenses, now forced to respect his shot, have guarded Cancer tighter. It makes it easier to up-fake and let him fight his way to the paint. Once there, the innate ball-handler in him can take over.

Even when he’s not shooting the ball well, he’s still capable of getting other players involved on the offensive end.

Following Cornell’s win over Siena last Tuesday in his hometown of Albany, New York, Cancer got a chance to spend Christmas with his family.

He spent two days — Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — at home, seeing his 5-year-old sister opening presents, watching movies like “The Santa Clause” and challenging family at Madden and NBA 2K on his PlayStation 4.

It was a nice reprieve, but a brief one. Cancer had to get back to the Cornell campus and continue a season that he had to earn the right to be a part of.

“He is happier, you can just tell,” said Amiera Cancer, his 18-year-old sister. “He didn’t want to sit out another season when he could be helping them.”

Published on December 30, 2014 at 12:13 pm

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