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.

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

"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.

Story continues