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2014 point guard Quentin Snider commits to Illinois

Montgomery County Ballard Basketball

Ballard’s Quentin Snider, right, shoots over Montgomery County’s Tyler Jones during the third quarter of the KHSAA Sweet 16 semi-finals high school basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, March 9, 2013. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

AP

When he made the decision to de-commit from hometown school Louisville, 2014 point guard Quentin Snider became one of the most highly sought-after lead guards in the country. And on Thursday the Ballard High School product verbally committed to attend Illinois, picking the Fighting Illini over UCLA.

Snider becomes Illinois’ third verbal commitment in the 2014 class, joining forwards LeRon Black and Michael Finke, and he’s an important one given the Illini’s lack of depth at the point. Oregon State transfer Ahmad Starks has one season of eligibility (the upcoming 2013-14 campaign) and Tracy Abrams (3.5 apg last season) will be a senior in 2014-15. With that being the case Illinois head coach needed another point guard to go along with freshman Jaylon Tate for depth reasons, and Snider’s decision to attend the Big Ten school accomplishes that goal.

And Illinois certainly worked hard to land Snider, as evidenced in his post-commitment statement regarding his visit to UCLA.

Snider averaged 19.3 points and 4.5 assists per game last season, helping lead Ballard to a 32-5 record and an appearance in the Kentucky state title game. In a postseason interview with the Louisville Courier-Journal, Ballard head coach Chris Renner made note of both Snider’s talent and his leadership ability.

“The one thing we talked about before the season is how he would be judged on not only his individual play but how he would lead us as a team,” Ballard head coach Chris Renner said. “And we talked about a state championship. He took that serious, and we came up about 15 seconds short. He had not only an outstanding individual year but was a great leader for our team.”

In addition to Starks the Fighting Illini lose guard Joseph Bertrand and forward Jon Ekey at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season, and the recruiting class head coach John Groce has put together thus far will definitely help the program deal with those personnel losses in 2014.

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