The USC Trojans held their Elite Basketball Camp this past weekend and with several high-profile recruits as well as local talents in attendance, the Trojan coaching staff was able to take a look at some top targets for the 2009 and 2010 classes.
One such player is Moreno Valley’s Michael Snaer (Rancho Verde High School), who has seen his stock rise steadily ever since he led his Mustangs to a win over Palmdale in California’s 2A Championship game earlier this year.
At the Elite Camp, Snaer found himself on a team with fellow Trojan targets Jeremy Tyler (San Diego, class of 2010) and Tyler Honeycutt (Sylmar, class of 2009).
“I hadn’t played with those guys before,” Snaer said. “We had fun playing together. We won all of our games to start with.”
Snaer rolled his ankle at the end of the first day and was forced to sit out Sunday’s session.
“We started losing games after that,” Snaer said, noting that a few of his other teammates sat out Sunday’s games as well. “But when we were on the court together, we had a good time.”
The camp was led by USC Assistant Coach Gib Arnold, who has been actively recruiting Snaer for some time.
“I really like him,” Snaer said. “I have a good relationship with the ‘SC coaches, like Coach Arnold and Coach Floyd.”
The Trojans were the first school to recruit Snaer, and though they have kept in touch with him throughout the recruiting process, Snaer is now hearing from schools all over the country. He’ll travel to Marquette University’s camp this weekend and hopes to take visits to the University of Florida, Stanford University, the University of California (Berkeley) and the University of Arizona.
The 6-5 shooting guard became an elite-level recruit this spring and will look to continue making a name for himself this summer.
He’s proven himself as a tremendous competitor, going head to head with John Wall (perhaps the best player in the 2009 class) at the recent Pangos All-American Camp. He exerts effort at both ends of the floor and takes pride in being a complete player.
“I’d like to think that I’m the best at everything I do,” he said. “I feel like I make good decisions with the ball and I pass the ball well. People don’t generally see that.”
In addition, Snaer is a fantastic scorer, able to put the ball on the floor, get to the rim and score amongst the bigs inside. His jump shooting can be streaky at times, but its fluid and he can get it off just about whenever he wants.
Snaer said that he and the rest of the Elite Camp attendees didn’t spend any time talking about recruiting or committing, but he acknowledged that it was a “fun experience.”
“There was some good competition out there,” Snaer said. “I was definitely getting better there.”
Snaer said that he’ll spend the rest of the summer split between leading his Inland Empire AAU team and lining up official visits. He’d like to make a decision toward the end of July or early August.
