For those who follow recruiting, the recruitment of point guard Quentin Snider’s been an interesting saga to follow over the last 24 hours or so. Originally a verbal commitment to Louisville, the Ballard HS product de-committed from his hometown school in late-July and less than two months later committed to attend Illinois.
At the time of Snider’s decision to reopen his recruitment it was reported that Louisville had moved on, seemingly closing the door on a reconnection. But recruiting can be a funny thing, with reports emerging this week that Snider and the program were back in contact. And on Friday the news more than a few expected (and many Illinois fans feared) came to fruition, as Snider signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Louisville.
The news was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com. And the fact that Louisville’s backcourt situation cleared up some since Snider made the decision to de-commit may have helped with the reconnection, according to Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal.He withdrew that pledge late this summer after determining the Cards’ backcourt looked too loaded, with 2013 signees Chris Jones, Anton Gill and Terry Rozier and five-star 2014 commitments Shaqquan Aaron and JaQuan Lyle.
But Lyle withdrew his own pledge from Louisville after Snider had made his new commitment to Illinois, and the Cards have attempted to recruit new guards, including James Blackmon Jr. and junior-college prospects Sam Cassell Jr. and Josh Gray.
Snider becomes Louisville’s fourth commitment in the 2014 class, joining wing Shaqquan Aaron and interior prospects Jaylen Johnson and Chinanu Onuaku. All four players have signed National Letter of Intent during the early signing period, which began on Wednesday and end on November 20th. The Cardinals will certainly lose Russ Smith after this season, and Snider’s signing gives Rick Pitino another talented option at the point in Louisville’s debut season in the ACC.
Junior college transfer Chris Jones would be a senior (and should he play well enough to move on the next level, Snider’s addition will become even more important), and Terry Rozier would be a sophomore. Other guards with eligibility remaining are current juniors Wayne Blackshear, Kevin Ware and freshman Anton Gill.
Snider’s the second elite player this fall to re-commit to a school after reopening his recruitment, with James Blackmon Jr. (Indiana) being the first. And when it comes to top players making a switch this week, Snider joins power forward Payton Dastrup (from Ohio State to BYU) as players who have done so.