by Dennis Freeland
et’s put Omar Sneed’s season in perspective. In
1973, as he closed out his senior season, Larry Finch put on a scoring demonstration
unequalled at the University of Memphis. He finished the season averaging 24 points a
game, a school record that still stands. In the following 25 years, only two players have
averaged 20 points in a season for the Tigers. Elliot Perry scored 20.8 in the 1990-91
season and Anfernee Hardaway averaged 22.8 in his final season, 1992-93.
| PHOTO BY LARRY KUZNIEWSKI |
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Sneed, currently averaging 20.8 points per game, is about to join that elite group. It’s lofty company for a power forward who is neither tall (forget the hype, when they measured him before the season, Sneed stood a little over 6-4) nor blessed with great leaping ability.
There is symmetry to this story. Sneed was the last basketball player Larry Finch signed to play for the University of Memphis. It didn’t create a sensation when the school announced last fall that a power forward from San Jacinto Junior College had signed to play with the Tigers. Local reporters and Tiger fans were so preoccupied with the loss of Tony Harris to Tennessee that they completely overlooked Sneed, who would average 24.2 points and 11.3 rebounds that year, while shooting 58 percent for a team that finished the regular season 29-0. Basketball Times named Sneed JUCO Player of the Year, but since he hadn’t played high-school ball in Memphis, Tiger fans yawned.
After Finch was fired, Sneed didn’t hear from the University of Memphis. He had signed a letter of intent to play with the school, but with the coaching staff in transition, there was no one to call him. He became disgruntled and began to consider other options. Thus when Tic Price landed the job last spring, one of his first priorities was to visit Sneed and convince the big guy that he was still a valued member of the Tiger program.
But after reassuring Sneed, Price signed another power forward from another junior college in Texas. Jermaine Ousley from Tyler Junior College had two attributes Sneed could only dream about – a 6-8 frame and tremendous leaping ability.
Sneed had played against Ousley. Knew him well. In fact, when Sneed filled out a questionnaire for the U of M media guide, he wrote “Jermaine Ousley” in the blank next to: “The best athlete I’ve played against.”
When Sneed arrived in Memphis, he worried that he would have to back up Jermaine Ousley at the power forward position.
Of course the Memphis talent was too thin for that; both Ousley and Sneed would have to play as many minutes as possible. At first Price tried Sneed at small forward, but after two exhibition games and an overtime win against Northeast Louisiana, Sneed came home to power forward. Against a tall and physical Vanderbilt squad in the second game of the season, Sneed scored 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. For the first time, Tiger fans saw the skills that allow Sneed to score inside the paint even when surrounded by taller players.
Omar Sneed plays as hard as anyone who’s ever worn the Memphis uniform. He has great hands, knows how to post himself in the middle, and has an unbelievable assortment of shots around the basket. He runs well and he’s an excellent passer.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Sneed is second in Conference USA in scoring (trailing Saint Louis freshman Larry Hughes by 0.2 points), second in rebounding (trailing UNC Charlotte senior DeMarco Johnson by 0.8), and first in field-goal percentage, shooting an incredible .592. The last time a Memphis player shot that well was 1982-83, when center Derrick Phillips hit .596 of his shots. But Phillips was hardly an offensive threat, taking only 171 shots that season. Sneed has already shot 316 times.
This week voters will select Conference USA Player of the Year. It looks like a three-man race between Sneed, Johnson, and Hughes. It is a contest Sneed should win, but probably won’t.
Each city in Conference USA gets four votes – one for the head coach and three for reporters. The media representatives are selected by the sports information director at each school. In Memphis, Mark Owens chose Dave Woloshin from radio, Greg Gaston from TV, and Zack McMillin to represent print media. It is doubtful that any Memphis reporter who has watched Sneed all season would vote for anyone else. But there’s the rub. In a 12-team league, half the cities only got one chance to see Sneed play. Reporters in St. Louis, for instance, have not seen Sneed since January 3rd. He scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds that day, leading Memphis to a 68-62 upset win.
The case for Omar Sneed is simple. In conference play, he leads the league in scoring (22.4) and rebounding (9.7). As the season has progressed, Sneed has gotten stronger. He is double- and triple-teamed every game. Opposing teams design their defensive game plan around stopping Sneed, but so far, no one has.
“If Omar Sneed is not the Player of the Year in this conference, then it’s a terrible injustice,” Price said last week after Sneed averaged 31.5 points in wins over Tulane and Louisville. “Everyone in this league has to double- and triple-team him to contain him. We have not had to do that against anyone in this league.”
Price benched Sneed in the second half of the South Florida game on January 29th. In the next 10 games, Sneed averaged 25.1 points and 10 rebounds per game. Those numbers are hard to argue with, but some voters will.
Some will say that Sneed benefited from playing most of his conference games in the weaker National Division of C-USA. But a close inspection shows that to be a faulty argument. In the five games Memphis has played so far against American Division teams, Sneed is averaging 25 points and 11.4 rebounds.
DeMarco Johnson at UNC Charlotte is a senior. He was the preseason selection as Player of the Year and has followed up with an outstanding senior season. In terms of scoring and rebounding, Johnson and Sneed are almost inseparable. In their one head-to-head meeting, Sneed had 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Johnson had 12 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Sneed’s team handed Charlotte one of its two league losses that day.
Because he is a senior and was the preseason selection, DeMarco Johnson will likely be named C-USA Player of the Year next Wednesday in Cincinnati. Larry Hughes will settle for Freshman of the Year. Sneed will have to settle for first-team all-conference.
Those of us in Memphis will know, though. We’ll remember the 37 points and 20 rebounds he posted in a losing effort against DePaul. We’ll remember how, late in that game, Sneed was still running the floor, still getting stick-back baskets, despite the fact that he had played more minutes than any other player on either team in the double-overtime game. We’ll remember how night after night Sneed placed this patchwork Memphis team on his broad shoulders and gave them a chance to win.
Tic Price can only hope that not getting this award will motivate Sneed to play even harder (if such a thing is possible) in the conference tournament next week. All Price can do is hope. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players. n