Seattle P-I on Quin Snyder ...

An interesting story in Seattle's daily newspaper:


'Coach Q' gets back to what he loves best

After a stormy career and some time out, Quin Snyder is coaching again


By JON NAITO
P-I REPORTER

AUSTIN, Texas -- Quin Snyder can't sit still. It's the anxiety of a man faced with unwanted introspection. It is a dangerous trait in a profession where many have a difficult time letting go. For Snyder, all he wants right now is to embrace his present.

He is in the air-conditioned lobby of a midpriced chain hotel. His right leg shakes. His eyes scan the room. His voice is hoarse. Periodically, he checks on the progress of the Connecticut-Villanova basketball game on a nearby television. Otherwise, he looks at his watch. Constantly. He has friends in town, and they all are to attend the Oklahoma-Texas basketball game that afternoon.

Later that night, down the street in a convention center that seats less than 3,000, Snyder, 41, will coach the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team operated by the San Antonio Spurs, to a victory over the Dakota Wizards.

It is his first season with the team -- far from the bustling college arenas he roamed a short time ago, and farther still from the fast track to stardom for which he was once destined.

In February 2006, in the midst of a disappointing season, Snyder resigned as coach at Missouri. It was a sudden end to a stormy seven-year tenure -- one marked by scandal, uneven performances by his teams and, eventually, NCAA sanctions.

"You come in and you're put on this pedestal," Snyder said. "People are calling you a savior or 'Golden Boy' or talk about all these things that have no substance like the way you dress or your hair. You go to the barbershop and it's on the Internet. The amount of attention -- I was not prepared for that. There was an increased level of expectation because of all the hoopla.

"What I learned was that I loved coaching and what parts of the job I found satisfying and what parts of it are not a good fit for me."

When he arrived at Missouri in 1999, Snyder was the wunderkind minted as a rising star. He certainly had the pedigree. He was a bright mind with a law degree and MBA from Duke. He was a two-time state player of the year and an All-American at Mercer Island, played on three Final Four teams for the Blue Devils, and after serving an apprenticeship under Mike Krzyzewski, his future was bright and his potential limitless.

For a time, it certainly appeared that way. He led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2002.

But his final seasons at Missouri were marked by underachieving play (his record was 42-42 following the 2002 season) and a player named Ricky Clemons.

Clemons was a talented point guard with a checkered past and a penchant for trouble. He assaulted and served time for choking a female student and wrecked an all-terrain vehicle on the lawn of the university president. The fallout from the Clemons debacle led to the NCAA placing the program on three years' probation and hastened Snyder's departure.

"How do you determine your impact as a coach and what is success?" Snyder said. "The simplest answer is wins. There was talk about graduation rates and that stuff, but that's silly. (Wins) are how decisions are made.

"We don't have to go through all that pretense in selling this league. You can find your own way. In the D-League wins aren't important. They are to a certain extent, but in this situation, you teach guys how to win, how to compete in games. Not that we don't want to win, but we find success in our own complex way."

After leaving Missouri, Snyder decamped to North Carolina. He lived in a house in Wilmington for a time, and sought refuge with Krzyzewski and his staff. He spent time with his son, Owen, who lives with Snyder's ex-wife in Charlotte.

Seeking a change of scenery, he took a road trip west, before deciding to move to Austin. He turned down initial overtures to coach the Toros following the death of Dennis Johnson in February 2007. But when the Spurs bought the team last summer, they approached Snyder again, and this time he agreed.

"He had a real difficult situation at Missouri," said Mercer Island coach Ed Pepple. "But Quin's a fighter. He's a tough guy. He was one of the most insatiable competitors I've ever seen, and he's a basketball junkie. He really lives for this game. I wasn't sure if he'd come back to coaching, but I'm certainly glad he's gotten another chance. I think he'll thrive there."

Snyder is back doing what he loves -- teaching. He is a basketball wonk, obsessed with strategy and preparation. He likes that his job now is about developing players, and that he no longer has to concern himself with recruiting and the myriad peripheral things that popped up in the college game, which he said he has no desire to return to.

"Coach Q is great," Austin forward Serge Angounou said. "He's a good teacher and he connects with the players. He knows the game and he understands how to make us better. I think we're lucky to have him here."

What Snyder really enjoys is the simplicity of his life now. The media coverage in a town dominated by the University of Texas, in particular the football team, is nearly nonexistent. He no longer is under a harsh glare. Fans don't live and die for the Toros; they only want a couple of hours of affordable entertainment. It is low stress. He teaches. He goes home.

"It's hard to look back," Snyder said. "I get fairly introspective. There was a lot of growth from everything that happened (at Missouri). I felt like it almost killed me, because there was so much toxicity at the time. It made me realize what was really important to me. I think processing all of it took a long time. But now, I look back at the last five years, and I think how it's shaped me. I'm happy with where I am right now."

P-I reporter Jon Naito can be reached at 206-448-8209 or jonnaito@seattlepi.com.