Dec. 12, 2001
By Jonathan Gust, Villanova Media Relations
It began as a friendly rivalry on the basketball courts of Baltimore, Md. It evolved into a close-knit bond between two players years later and 100 miles north at Villanova University. Today, Villanova's "Baltimore Backcourt" of Reggie Bryant and Derrick Snowden helps makeup the present and future of Wildcat basketball - a future that Bryant and Snowden together hope to make memorable.
They both grew up in Baltimore, members of large yet extremely close families where sports played an important role. The basketball career's of Bryant and Snowden followed the same paths. Basketball became a big part of their lives from a very early age, and continued to grow as they got into their high school years.
"I started playing basketball probably around the same time I started walking," said Snowden. "I probably picked up my first ball when I was about two or three years old. It my backyard, I used to go out there and shoot around - lay ups, dribbling drills. You know, everyone wants to be like Mike (Michael Jordan). So that is how it was when I was little."
"The Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas are very competitive," said Bryant. "Even if kids don't always have the talent, they definitely have the heart and the will. Growing up, it gave me the sense of emergency to play hard and never take anything for granted."
The two Wildcat guards met in high school, when Bryant played for Calvert Hall and Snowden ran the point for Archbishop Spalding. They realized when they met that they both held similar values on the basketball court - hard work and a competitive spirit. Not coincidentally, they also both held unique talents.
"We played against each other in high school ball," said Bryant. "He played for Archbishop Spalding and I played for Calvert Hall so we were rivals. I think our friendship started forming then because we always competed so hard against one another. I always admired the way he competed - his drive and his determination."
"He was a tough player in high school," said Snowden. "He was a shooter. Reggie could come off screens and hit anything. He had the green light. When we played them, he was tough to guard. I think one game he had something like 31 points against us. I didn't know him when we first played them, but my coach was like, 'he's your enemy.' So when I first saw him I didn't like him. But I respected his game because he played hard. Even though he scored a lot, he didn't care about shooting. All he cared about was winning. And that is the big thing with me."
Bryant and Snowden's relationship continued to grow as their prep careers went on. They were teammates for the first time when they played AAU basketball. Together, the two helped their AAU squad to the Nationals Finals in Florida.
"When I found out what type of person Reggie was, we really got along," said Snowden. "We clicked well and from there on out we kept in contact and always talked."
At the end of their sophomore seasons and the beginning of their junior campaigns, Bryant and Snowden began receiving national attention from some of the nation's top programs. It was then that the two Baltimore guards realized that the game they began playing for fun could take them to the college level and possibly beyond.
"After my sophomore year, I went to the Five Star Basketball Camp and was touted as one of the nation's top 100 rising juniors," said Snowden. "It was different because I was playing for fun - out there to win and hang out with my teammates. Then I start getting calls from all these big schools. It was then I realized that I really had a shot."
"After the recruiting began, I started working even harder and focusing on playing basketball and getting into school," said Bryant. "Before that, I was just playing ball because it was fun. I never thought I would be in college playing."
Villanova began recruiting Snowden during his junior season at Archbishop Spalding. They also turned their attention towards Bryant, who began his prep career at Calvert Hall but also spent one season playing for head coach Jere Quinn at St. Thomas More.
Snowden finished his high school career with 1,454 point and 763 assists, also garnering a number of honors including Baltimore Sun Player of the Year and Catholic League Most Valuable Player honors. Bryant was an All-Metro and All-Catholic performer at Calvert Hall as a senior, before heading to St. Thomas More where he averaged 20 points and led his team to a New England Prep Championship.
"From my junior year when Villanova started recruiting me, there was just something about the school," said Snowden. "I thought the staff was very genuine. I believed everything they said. A lot of schools just tell you everything you want to hear, but when they came into the situation, they never promised me anything. They said I would have to work for everything I get, and I respected that."
"When Derrick was on my AAU team, the Villanova coaches came to see him play," said Bryant. "My old AAU coach said how if Derrick and I would end up at Villanova, that it would be good for us because we play so well together. So I was thinking about it, but I never thought it was a possibility. When I came here for my visit, the players were the biggest aspect. I really felt comfortable with the guys here. Coming from a big family, I needed a family atmosphere and they had it here at Villanova. And since Derrick was coming here, it made it a lot better and a lot easier."
Bryant and Snowden's first year at Villanova brought with it a number of ups and downs. After slow starts, both players began coming on in December. Unfortunately, Bryant's season was disrupted by an injury that kept him out seven games. The injury may have kept him down, however, but never kept him out.
"It was frustrating, especially missing time with the injury," said Bryant. "But the support I got from Derrick, the coaches, the rest of the players and my family really helped me. The way I look at it, it was a negative, but I got something positive out of it."
"When I first got here, I had no idea it was going to be as tough as far as the schedule - always practicing, running and conditioning," said Snowden. "The more I sat on the bench the first half of the year, the more I learned how to play the game and how to be patient about things. That helped me when I got a chance to play because it helped me to see the game from a different perspective."
Together, Bryant and Snowden worked their way through the tough times from which they emerged as stronger players the second half of the season. Bryant ended the 2000-01 campaign averaging 5.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in 16.5 minutes per game off the bench. Snowden worked his way into the starting lineup towards the end of the season, and finished the year averaging over four points and nearly two assists per contest.
"I think our relationship went from a friendship to being like family," said Bryant. "We are close - almost like brothers. We can talk about things that we only tell each other and our relationship will grow as long as we continue to stick together."
"When we got here to Villanova, it was like I had known Reggie all my life," said Snowden. "We are so similar and so alike it's crazy. Sometimes we say the exact same things at the exact same times. I couldn't be in a better situation with a friend like him."
The off-season took Bryant, Snowden and the Wildcats on a number of paths. It brought with it an all-new coaching staff led by first year head coach Jay Wright. It took them overseas in August where the Villanova team traveled to Italy to play a five-game schedule. And it also took them to the Legend of Villanova of Basketball Gala Dinner, where Bryant and Snowden talked to and sought advice from some of the school's top all-time coaches and players. The one constant through all these paths that life as a Wildcat basketball player has brought with it, is that Bryant and Snowden have taken all these paths together as friends and teammates.
"Going to Italy, seeing the sites and getting the chance to meet a lot of different people was great," said Bryant. "The best thing about it was that it helped us to grow and bond as a team. I think our expectations are a lot higher for ourselves than what other people's expectations are for this team. We know how hard we work and we just try to focus on playing hard and sticking together."
"Our main goal is that we want our team to play hard, and come out with a lot of passion and emotion," said Snowden. "We want to let everyone know that we are out there to play for Villanova. We are not out there to showcase our talents and look good. We are out there to play hard and play together for our school."
