[Rosiak's Blog] A look at Snaer

[ToddRosiakSays]

A look at Snaer

Written by: Todd Rosiak


There was another session of open gym at the Al McGuire Center on Saturday afternoon that, should things fall the way coach Buzz Williams and his staff want them to, might very well have provided a tantalizing glimpse into the future of the program.

Shooting guard Michael Snaer, a consensus top-15 recruit on his official visit to MU, took part in roughly an hour's worth of pickup games with most of the current Golden Eagles roster as well as MU commit Jeronne Maymon, who made the trip in from Madison.

Spicing up the affair even more was the fact that for most of the games Snaer was matched up against Jerel McNeal, the player Snaer would replace next season should he ultimately choose MU over his other finalists -- Missouri, Florida State, UCLA and Kansas.

But first things first.

Snaer was in the gym early and spent his time working on his catch-and-shoot and free-throw shooting. I'm not breaking any ground in saying this, but Snaer sppears to be every bit the deadeye perimeter shooter he's been billed as being. He possesses picture-perfect form, has nice lift and a feathery follow-through and touch.

The new three-point line didn't pose any problems to Snaer as he warmed up, and when he was through with that I watched him drain about 10 straight free throws without touching the rim once. It was a stroke that was, dare I say, reminiscent of Steve Novak's from a few years back. To say MU could use Snaer's talents next season would obviously be a huge understatement.

Physically, Snaer was a few inches taller than McNeal, which would put him around 6-foot-4 or so. He has a slender but solid build, and looks to be a top-notch athlete. Very often in these open-gym situations, high-schoolers are a bit tentative and willing to defer to the veterans but from the outset Snaer was aggressive even with McNeal in his mug and cutting the newcomer no slack.

Snaer's first game was his best. He showed a nice array of weapons offensively, scoring easily on a driving layup, stepping back and draining a three and then scoring on a putback in traffic with McNeal on his back. He also put plenty of effort in on the defensive end, doing his best to stay in front of McNeal on his drives and occasionally giving him some trouble with his length.

With Dominic James (thigh) and Wesley Matthews (foot) not participating, play became a little ragged at times. Snaer was also a willing passer, setting up Lazar Hayward for one of a number of his threes with a nice look at one point. He also showed he could finish on a handful of occasions, using a nice jump-stop to get in the lane for an easy layup, and then finishing a break later with a big one-handed dunk on a breakaway.

Afterward, Snaer and the rest of the team, along with the coaching and support staff, headed over to Miller Park to take in the Cubs-Brewers game. Snaer's on his third official visit, having already been to Missouri and Florida State, and he's expected to visit both UCLA and Kansas before making a decision.

Being able to get in with Snaer and get him on campus for a visit was a definite coup for Buzz Williams and his staff. Should they ultimately wind up landing him, it would vault what already is a top-5 recruiting class in some scouting services' opinions up to being perhaps the best class in the country.

Aside from Snaer's presence, the overriding theme on Saturday continued to be just how good McNeal has become. Even though James and Matthews weren't out there, it's hard to believe anyone can stop McNeal from doing what he wants to do right now, open gym or not.

On this afternoon he was once again lights-out from three-point range, with many of them coming from a few steps beyond the newly-lengthened arc, and pretty much able to get to the basket at will. He had one hesitation dribble-drive that led to an easy banker that made Joe Fulce -- a normally solid defender -- look foolish. McNeal also continues to give no quarter on the defensive end, which is saying something when you're playing a much more undisciplined form of basketball without the coaches watching.

Other observations: As good as McNeal was knocking down his three-point attempts, Hayward might have been just as good. When he's got an open look and time to set his feet, the ball is usually going to go in. He's playing as confidently as ever as well, and has clearly taken a leadership role...Jimmy Butler played as well as I've seen him play (which, admittedly, is a pretty small sample size). He knocked down some open threes and went to the basket on occasion, although much of that came on 5-7 Maurice Acker...Maymon had a few bright spots but otherwise didn't do much. The one thing I did notice is that he's already at ease with his future teammates, and spent much of the afternoon laughing and joking around with Fulce during the down moments of their matchups. Maymon looks even thicker than he did when he committed this spring, and should look like a real beast next year at this time after strength and conditioning coach Todd Smith has had him for a few months...Fulce is not shy in the least about putting up threes, and he knocks down his fair share as well. His shot, like much of his game, is so similar to Shawn Marion's it's almost uncanny (and no, I'm not saying he's as good, clearly)...And finally, unless something changes here over the next week or so, Sasa Borovnjak will be the only recruit taking an official visit to MU's 'Marquette Madness' event on Oct. 25. There will clearly be others making unofficial visits, though.



http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/09/27/a-look-at-snaer.aspx

[4everwarriors]

Wow, I'm sold on the dude.

[jmayer1]

Cadougan
Snaer
Williams
Maymon
Otule / McMorrow

How sweet of a lineup would that be?

[nyg]

A 6 ft 4 guard who shoots like Novak, good grief, I hope we have a viable shot at this guy.

[Markusquette]

It would be so awesome if Snaer decided to come.  I hope he had a good time with what could be his future teammates.  I mean, coming to a team losing three starting guards really gives him a lot of opportunity.

[77ncaachamps]

Ditto those comments.

Snaer sounds like an automatic starter when he arrives. But with so much talent around the court, it's going to be interesting to see how Cadougan distributes!

[Daniel]

Any rumors trickling in on how Snaer's visit went?  Would love to hear something - like he verballed

[WashDCWarrior]

I wish he'd gone to the Brewer's game on Sunday instead of Saturday.