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Louisville still alive in title hunt thanks to Quentin Snider's unlikely emergence

Louisville still alive in title hunt thanks to Quentin Snider's unlikely emergence

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A couple of TV guys bustled up to Quentin Snider in the Louisville locker room Thursday, hungry for a sound bite.

A few minutes earlier, N.C. State point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber had talked a little smack about the East Region semifinal matchup with the Cardinals. Among his comments: "I don't know too much about that new point guard they got, but it's going to be kind of hard trying to contain me with my speed."

Hoping to stir up a little dialog, the TV guys thrust their microphones toward that new point guard and asked for his response to Barber's bravado.

They left in about a minute, disappointed. There would be no crossfire from Snider.

"I'm a really quiet person," the Louisville freshman said, quietly.

The fact that Snider is part of an anticipated NCAA tournament Sweet 16 matchup is improbable. But then again, so is the fact that he's Louisville's starting point guard. And so is the fact that he's a Cardinal at all.

For a guy who was always The Other Point Guard in Rick Pitino's plans, he's come a long way in a hurry. And by necessity.

Thirty-six days ago in this same Carrier Dome, Snider made his first collegiate start in place of suspended Chris Jones. A week later, he became Louisville's full-time starter at point after Jones was dismissed for being charged with rape. Last week in Seattle, Snider played his best basketball as a collegian to help the Cardinals past UC Irvine and Northern Iowa – he averaged 13 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first two NCAA tournament games, making the winning free throws against UC Irvine with 8.9 seconds left.

Quentin Snider celebrates win fans after Louisville beat Northern Iowa. (USAT)
Quentin Snider celebrates win fans after Louisville beat Northern Iowa. (USAT)

"There were really no nerves," Snider said, despite the fact that he was a 59 percent foul shooter at that point. "I'm surprised by that."

There have been a succession of surprises involving Snider and Louisville. This was almost a pre-arranged marriage of hometown player and program, but it went off-again, on-again before being consummated.

Scott Snider grew up in Louisville with the Doctors of Dunk, the fabled high flyers of Denny Crum's golden era in the 1980s. He was in third grade when the Cardinals won their first national title, in 1980, but the team that really captured his imagination was the '82 bunch that went to the Final Four before losing to Georgetown in the national semifinals.

Naturally, when Scott had Quentin, he indoctrinated him as a Louisville fan. The two began going to games at old Freedom Hall, and Quentin intently watched Rick Pitino's point guards, from Reece Gaines to Edgar Sosa to Peyton Siva. He grew up envisioning himself in that role.

Snider played AAU ball for his dad for a while, then played for former Louisville power forward Ellis Myles – sharing the backcourt with current Ohio State star D'Angelo Russell. And when Pitino extended Snider a scholarship offer after his freshman year, it didn't take long to accept it.

"The one thing I'd do again, I wouldn't let him commit after his freshman year," Scott Snider said. "He was so excited, he just wanted to be a Louisville Cardinal."

Snider kept playing well at local power Ballard High School, but Pitino kept recruiting other guards. He signed Jones in the class of 2013, then added a commitment from five-star guard JaQuan Lyle in the class of 2014 – Snider's class. It was not hard to envision playing time disappearing.

That led to a reappraisal, and then a reluctant decommitment.

"I had to back out and see some other schools," Quentin said.

He visited UCLA and Illinois, and wound up verbally committing to the Illini in September 2013. But shortly after that, Lyle decommitted, changing the equation once again.

Within two months, Snider's heartstrings had tugged him back to the hometown program.

"I just felt like Louisville was my dream school," Snider said. "I always wanted to go there."

So Snider signed and enrolled. And sat.

Pitino doles out playing time sparingly to freshmen – especially freshmen who aren't great defensively. That was Snider. There were times early in the season when Pitino would yank the 2014 Kentucky Mr. Basketball almost as soon as he put him in – a two-minute cameo against Marshall, three minutes against Cleveland State, just one against Kentucky.

A vital part of playing Pitino's amorphous, hybrid zone-man defense: communication. That was especially hard for a player as taciturn as Snider.

"You've got to talk a lot," he said. "I'm really a quiet person."

Said Scott Snider: "He wasn't college-ready defensively. With Coach P, you're not going to play until you buy into defense. Q grew up here, we watched it, we knew coming into it what the situation was.

"But it's harder when you go through it than what you think it will be."

Quentin Snider celebrates with his Louisville teammates after their win over UC Irvine. (USAT)
Quentin Snider celebrates with his Louisville teammates after their win over UC Irvine. (USAT)

Snider averaged 9.2 minutes per game until Jones was suspended and ultimately dismissed. Suddenly, the freshman went from bench jockey to indispensible as the only scholarship point guard left on the roster. As fans and media considered a future without Jones and predictions of doom rolled in, Snider increased his late-night trips to the Louisville practice gym.

Two or three nights a week, he would come in around 10 and work until midnight – shooting, ball handling, preparing. Since Jones departed, Snider has averaged 33.6 minutes, nine points, three rebounds and three assists per game.

And lo and behold, the season has not gone to hell. The Cardinals are still playing.

"Sometimes people like Quentin ... don't get to show how good they are because all they're doing is giving a breather to Chris," Pitino said. "Now he's in a different role and he can showcase his skills a lot more. He's doing an outstanding job for us."

Quentin's unexpected promotion from spare part to integral contributor has been exciting to watch for his father. But also stressful.

"It's fun, but every possession seems like life and death," Scott Snider said. "I enjoy watching the game the second time."

From handling Cat Barber to running Louisville's offense, there will be a lot riding on the shoulders of a guy who was supposed to be The Other Point Guard this season. Quentin Snider has quietly handled his improbable role quite well so far.