Quin Snyder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quin Snyder (born October 30, 1966 in Mercer Island, Washington, United States) is the former head men's basketball coach of the University of Missouri. He is also a former assistant coach at his alma mater of Duke University. He resigned during the 2006 season, although some believe he was forced out by athletic director Mike Alden.

[edit] Snyder's Career

A 1985 graduate of Mercer Island High School, Snyder led his team to the 1985 State Championship for the state of Washington. Mercer Island won the mythical HS National Championship by being ranked #1 by USA Today to conclude the season. He participated in the McDonald's All-American game his senior year.

He played for the Duke University Blue Devils for three years and led his team to the Final Four in 1986, 1988, and 1989. He graduated from Duke in 1989 with a double major in philosphy and political science, and, later received a JD from Duke Law School in 1995 and an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1995.

Snyder led Missouri to 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, including the Elite Eight in 2002, equaling the deepest run ever made by a Missouri team in the NCAA Tournament. As a first year coach, he was named Rookie Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times. But an incident involving one of his players in the 02-03 season would be his undoing.

In January 2003, point guard Ricky Clemons was arrested on charges of assault and battery and false arrest against his former girlfriend. He was permitted to remain on the team until he was sentenced to 60 days in the Boone County Jail. While in jail, it was revealed that Clemons and several other players had been receiving payments from Snyder's assistant coaches, Lane Odom and Tony Harvery.

Meanwhile, the 2003-04 Tigers were picked to win the Big 12 Conference and were ranked as high as third in the AP poll. Instead, the Tigers underachieved, finishing 9-7 for a fifth place tie, and 16-14 overall. The season ended ingloriously with a 25-point loss to the archrival Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, TX and a one-point loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the NIT.

In the fall of 2004, the NCAA put Mizzou on probation for the violations committed, with the penalties affecting recruiting and scholarships. Snyder overhauled his coaching staff after that, bringing in Melvin Watkins, former head coach at Texas A&M, as his new associate head coach. The 2004-05 team put up a 16-17 record for the first losing season since 1996-97, losing to the DePaul Blue Demons in their brand new home, Mizzou Arena, in the first round of the NIT.

The 2005-06 Season got off to a decent start, culminating with an 89-86 overtime win over Kansas in mid-January. But the Tigers lost their next six, with the low point being a 90-64 loss in Waco, TX to the probation-riddled Baylor Bears, en route to another losing season and an 11th place Big 12 finish of 5-11. Snyder stepped down in February, 2006 before the conclusion of his seventh season at Missouri. His firing led to a prolonged controversy over the actions of Athletic Director Mike Alden's handling of the dismissal, as it was learned that Alden sent Tiger Radio Network color analyst Gary Link to inform Snyder that he would not be retained after the season.

He is the former son-in-law of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, who was, ironically, the head coach at Kansas from 1983-88. ([1]).