Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Michael Snaer: ‘I’m ... the best 2-guard in the country’

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Cincinnati v Florida State

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 18: Michael Snaer #21 of the Florida State Seminoles looks on against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the third round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 18, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Michael Snaer, Florida State’s rising senior shooting guard, did an interview with Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com where he said, in no unequivocal terms, that he believes he is the best shooting guard in the country.

“[At LeBron’s camp], I think we did one-on-one drills one time. I just straight destroyed people. So I mean, at that moment, I just knew, in my opinion, I’m the best guard in the country, the best 2-guard in the country, in my opinion,” Snaer told Medcalf. “Any guy would say that of course. But, like I said, you ask any of the guys that were down there [in] that drill with me and who laced up and went against me -- I can give you references if you want -- but they’ll tell you, ‘Yeah, I couldn’t guard him and nobody down there could.’ And that’s the bottom line.”

Personally, I don’t think that Snaer is the best shooting guard in the country. I know he’s a great athlete and a great defender. I know he averaged 14.0 points, shot 40% from three and hit two game-winners last season. And I agree with Jeff Eisenberg’s line of thinking: there’s no one in the country that is head-and-shoulders above Snaer.

But me, I’d have Snaer closer to the top five. I think Missouri’s Michael Dixon is going to have a big senior season. Lehigh’s CJ McCollum and Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan both could be listed as point guards, but they score enough that they deserve consideration. I’d take both of them over Snaer. I like Sean Kilpatrick a lot. I like Rodney McGruder more. Ben McLemore, BJ Young, Allen Crabbe, they can all play.

My opinion is irrelevant, however.

So is Eisenberg’s and Jay Bilas’ and Dick Vitale’s. Anyone. Everyone that isn’t named Michael Snaer. You see, Snaer’s always had the talent, but during his first couple of years, he got lost in the shuffle. He lost that confidence that every athlete needs to make them great. He admitted as much to Medcalf, saying “I was trying to be a team guy and in the midst of all that I kind of lost that swagger on the court, that cockiness you’ve got to have in-between the lines.”

The facts of the matter are that a) Snaer has the ability to be one of the best shooting guards in the country and b) Florida State is really going to need to to embrace that role.

And if he truly believes what he is telling Medcalf, than it should be great news for Florida State fans. It should mean that he’ll be aggressive and confident, attacking the basket instead of simply settling for tough jumpers. He’ll be a guy that can carry a team that no one is expecting to contend in the ACC.

I may not like Michael Snaer to be the best shooting guard in the country, but I love the fact that he thinks of himself as the best.

It shouldn’t be any other way for an athlete.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.