2014 PG target Quentin Snider's dad on son's visit: "“He liked UCLA; he liked it a whole lot."

Snider's dad: Illini in mix for point guard

Thu, 09/05/2013 - 10:35pm | Marcus Jackson News-Gazette (East Central Illinois)

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• Today's chat: Snider, Black and UI football
• The lowdown on Quentin Snider

In July when Quentin Snider backed out of the commitment he made to Louisville two years ago, Scott Snider figured there would be interest in his son from college basketball coaches. What surprised him, though, was how quickly and often the phone began ringing with programs inquiring about landing the point guard.

Illinois coach John Groce was among the first calls the Sniders received.

“I think they called that night. Coach Groce said (Illinois guard) Aaron (Cosby) told them they needed to get in contact with us,” Dad said. “They looked him up and everything and called either that night or early the next morning.”

The Illini have been in hot pursuit of the 6-foot point guard, who arrives today for an official visit, ever since. The visit comes earlier than expected because Snider, a four-star recruit rated in the top 40 by all the major recruiting services, changed the date of his Sept. 27 visit with Illinois to this weekend.

The trip to the UI campus comes a week after the Sniders made an official visit to UCLA.

This weekend originally was scheduled as a visit to Memphis, but Snider released his list of seven schools he’s considering last week — Illinois, UCLA, USC, Michigan State, Cincinnati, UConn and Oklahoma State — and the Tigers didn’t make the cut.

“We had the week off and he really liked UCLA a lot last week, and we wanted to make sure he saw some other schools to compare,” Scott Snider said. “We felt it would be good to get them done early instead of waiting until the 28th.”

Snider, rated 31st in the Class of 2014 by Rivals, 31st by Scout and 28th by ESPN, has visits with Michigan State and UConn scheduled for later this month.

Scott Snider said all seven schools on the list are still in play.

Working in Illinois’ favor is the relationship Quentin has with Cosby, a fellow Louisville native. The transfer from Seton Hall has had an enjoyable experience at the UI so far, something Scott Snider hears about from Cosby’s father.

“He said everything is going great so far; Coach Groce has been great to Aaron,” Scott Snider said. “Coach Groce watched out for Aaron when he had his double-hernia surgery this summer, and I know Aaron’s dad is real fond of Coach Groce.”

Snider also has a relationship with Leron Black, who last week committed to Illinois during his official visit to campus. Scott Snider isn’t sure, even if Quentin has an enjoyable visit to Illinois, that his trip will end in the same fashion.

“We’ll need to go home and talk about it more, maybe take another visit and make sure that’s where his heart is,” Scott Snider said. “He liked UCLA; he liked it a whole lot. I wanted him to at least take another visit and not just jump on the first visit; we did that last time with Louisville. If he goes to Illinois and comes back and says he still likes UCLA and that’s where his heart is at, OK. He might get to Illinois and like it, and I wanted to make sure we visited there.”


Check out some recent Quentin Snider videos (link)

Louiville KY Courier-Journal: Quentin Snider feels UCLA a good fit

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Ballard's Quentin Snider, left, drives to the basket around Montgomery County's Omar Prewitt at the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen. / Jonathan Palmer/Special to The Courier-Journal

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Steve Jones

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After visit, Quentin Snider says UCLA needing a point guard is 'a good feeling.' 

Ballard High School point guard Quentin Snider enjoyed an official visit to UCLA last weekend and has three more on tap over the next three weeks.

Snider, a 6-foot-1 player who was formerly committed to the University of Louisville, will visit Illinois, starting Friday, then Michigan State, then Connecticut. He also has been considering Cincinnati, Southern California and Oklahoma State.

Snider said he had a good trip to UCLA and that coach Steve Alford is in need of a player at his position. Snider said Alford plans to run a “fast motion” offense that “fits me real good because that’s what Ballard plays.”

“(The visit) was pretty good,” he said. “I got to hang out with the team and Coach Alford. He just said he needed a point guard. … That’s a good feeling.”

Snider, ranked the nation’s No. 31 senior by Rivals.com and Scout.com, watched UCLA’s players work out and liked Alford’s personality.

“He’s real nice to the guys,” Snider said. “He’s basically just laid back.”

Another UCLA visitor, four-star Indianapolis wing Trevon Bluiett, committed to the Bruins after the trip. Snider said he had a feeling Bluiett was leaning there.

Bluiett has said in interviews since his pledge that he hopes Snider joins him at UCLA, and Snider said “we’re pretty close.” They have played together at the NBPA Top 100 camp.

Snider said he liked the weather and atmosphere in Los Angeles and that distance from home won’t be a factor in his decision.

Illinois is next up for Snider.

The Illini scored a big recruiting victory with the recent commitment of five-star Memphis forward Leron Black, a former target of Indiana and Louisville.

Black and Snider are friends from the summer camp circuit, and in July, when Snider was still committed to U of L, he mentioned Black as a player he hoped the Cardinals would land. He also mentioned five-star Chicago power forward Cliff Alexander, who has been a top target of Groce.


Check out some recent Quentin Snider videos (link)

More 2014 recruits getting ready to announce

Weekend Visitation: Two top-100 prospects set to decide

By Jeff Borzello | College Basketball Writer

CBSSports.com

Eye on College Basketball

September 6, 2013 12:30 pm ET

The season of commitments and campus visits got off to a hot start last weekend, as top-50 prospects Leron Black (Illinois) and Trevon Bluiett (UCLA) both pledged on their official visits. They weren't the only two players to make commitments either, as a host of targets made their decisions. This weekend is guaranteed to see at least two top-100 prospects announce their choice, while there are also some key visits taking place.

Abdul Malik Abu and Jared Terrell set to announce

This isn't a storyline about official visits, but it's the biggest talking point in the recruiting world heading into the weekend. AAU teammates Abdul Malik Abu and Jared Terrell have a press conference set for Saturday, in which they will announce their college destination. Abu is down to Florida, North Carolina State, Providence and Connecticut, while Terrell has Oklahoma State, Providence, Cincinnati and Rhode Island on his list. Abu took a couple of under-the-radar unofficial visits this week, to Florida on Tuesday and NC State on Thursday. Meanwhile, Terrell took an official visit to Rhode Island this week.

My 247Sports Crystal Ball pegged Abu for Florida back in July, while I have Rhode Island as the destination for Terrell. This one is going down to the wire. Florida and NC State are battling hard for Abu, and the Wolfpack might be the favorites heading into Saturday. For Terrell, Oklahoma State had the momentum before his Rhode Island visit.

Kevon Looney continues official visits with Duke

This could be the big weekend for Kevon Looney. Long thought to be a Duke lean, the top-10 prospect will take his official trip to Durham. He went to Florida last weekend, and the Gators might have made up some ground in Looney's recruitment. With that said, the Blue Devils are still out in front – for now. They offered Reid Travis earlier this week, and it remains to be seen if that's the plan B for Mike Krzyzewski. If Looney gets past this weekend without committing to the Blue Devils, expect Tennessee to make a big push. Michigan State and Wisconsin aren't going anywhere, either.

Ulis, Booker head to Michigan State and Kentucky

Michigan State has its alumni weekend this weekend, while Kentucky has its alumni game on Monday. Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker will be in attendance at each spot. Ulis visited Iowa last weekend, and the Spartans and Wildcats are the only other schools on his list. A decision is likely coming in the next couple of weeks -- and this weekend's trips could be major factors. Kentucky is gaining serious momentum since offering. As for Booker, he still has visits to Florida, Michigan and Missouri after these two. The Wildcats could be in the driver's seat for this one, too. One interesting thing to keep an eye on is family ties: Ulis' cousin, Travis Walton, played at Michigan State, while Booker's father played at Missouri.

USC looking to make move on McLaughlin

There aren't too many high-level point guards left on the board in the class of 2014, but one of them starts his visits this weekend. Jordan McLaughlin, out of Etiwanda (Calif.), will trip to in-state USC. The Trojans are one of his final four schools, along with Kansas, UCLA and Indiana. McLaughlin has plans to visit Kansas and UCLA in October, while he has not lined up a date for his Bloomington trip yet. If McLaughlin does stay on the West coast for school, USC could have the edge.

Okafor set for Kentucky -- without Jones

Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones have been discussed as a package deal for a very long time, but they will separate this weekend as Okafor is planning to attend Kentucky's alumni game on Monday. Jones will trip to Lexington at a separate time due to a scheduling conflict. If the two stick together, Duke is still likely the favorite. If they go their separate ways, though, anything can happen. Kentucky could try to crack some holes in the package deal while Okafor is on campus.

Notes:

-- After visiting UCLA last weekend, Quentin Snider is now headed to Illinois. The Fighting Illini made his final list, and are riding high after Leron Black's commitment last week.

-- Paul White will be on Miami's campus this weekend, as the Hurricanes begin their quest for a frontcourt prospect.

-- Namon Wright has been mostly off the radar since July, but he is heading to UTEP this weekend. The Miners have been working as hard as anyone.

-- After checking out Vanderbilt, Trey Kell is back on the West coast and will visit Gonzaga this weekend. Meanwhile, Vandy will host Riley LaChance and Michael Humphrey.

-- Other visitors: Elbert Robinson (Nebraska), Donte Grantham (Michigan), Michael Gilmore (Kansas State), Ben Lammers (Georgia Tech), Matthew Fisher-Davis (Georgia).

-- No. 1 junior Malik Newman will be on Mississippi State's campus this weekend for an unofficial, along with four-star junior Kevaughn Allen and commits Demetrius Houston and Joe Strugg.

-- Five-star juniors Charles Matthews and Derrick Jones are expected to join the aforementioned players at Kentucky's alumni game.

Former 2014 Louisville commit PG Quentin Snider plans to visit Westwood

Former Louisville Commit Snider Planning Visits

August 3rd, 2013 6:14 pm

Zagsblog.com

Since decommitting from Louisville this past week, Quentin Snider has been besieged with phonecalls.

Now the Louisville Ballard point guard and his family are focusing on a few schools to visit.

His father, Scott Snider, told SNY.tv Saturday Quentin will likely visit Indiana and Xavier unofficially by the end of August, and is also planning official visits to UCLA, USC and UConn.

“Right now he’s got offers from Minnesota, Marquette, West Virginia, USC, Illinois, Loyola Marymount, UConn, Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Memphis,” Scott said.

“He’s getting some interest from Michigan State, Indiana, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Purdue, Butler, Xavier and Manhattan.”

 Scott said they would drive to schools that are close — such as Indiana and Xavier — for unofficial visits.

“We told Indiana we’d come for a visit there and we talked to Xavier and we’ll visit there, too,” Scott said. “We haven’t got a date for either one of them. We just said we’ll try to get there by the end of August or the beginning of September.

“Those we’ll take unofficials,” Scott said.

UCLA, USC and UConn are in the mix for official visits.

“We’ll probably visit UCLA and USC and probably visit UConn also,” he said. “Probably those three.”

No dates have been set for those.

As for the decommitment from Louisville, Scott said the Cardinals simply had too many point guards in the mix with Chris Jones and Terry Rozier.

“It got to the point where it got really, really crowded at that position,” he said. “It was just something where the situation changed after he committed.”

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