Former Butler basketball star Snodgrass relishes fresh start at Pitt-Johnstown

Born out of a quest to be closer to his home, Nate Snodgrass believes he's found his basketball home for the next three years.

Snodgrass, the former Butler High School standout, is in the process of transferring to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for the upcoming college season. A third-team all-state Class AAAA guard for the Golden Tornado as a senior in 2011-12, Snodgrass attended and played for Northern Kentucky University last season.

“I wanted to come back closer to home and play closer to home and look for a little better academic situation,” Snodgrass said. “And whenever I looked at my options, I liked the guys at Pitt-Johnstown and the coaches, and it's a place that will help me in the future with its business school.”

UPJ will be the third school in about a year's time for Snodgrass. He originally committed to the United States Naval Academy. But just weeks into a summer session in Annapolis, Md., he realized the military lifestyle wasn't for him.

So it was off to Highland Heights, Ky., to play for a Northern Kentucky program that was playing its first Division I season after being a Division II power.

Snodgrass played in 25 games — starting three — while averaging 17.4 minutes for the Norse. He averaged 3.1 points and was fifth on the team with 32 assists.

“We're very excited to get him,” UPJ coach Bob Rukavina said. “He averaged 17 ¹⁄₂ minutes in Division I as a freshman, and I looked at his stats, the assist-to-turnover ratio was about 2 to 1, so he'll fit in real well with us.

“You watch him, and you like his toughness. He seems like a player who makes the players around him better. He's perfect for us — we have a lot of guys who can score, so he'll get to do a little of both: Run the show and score. We're really fortunate to have him.”

Snodgrass averaged 21.3 points and 5.2 assists per game as a senior at Butler.

The valedictorian of his class at one of Western Pennsylvania's largest high schools, Snodgrass was named MVP of the 2011-12 Butler team that advanced to the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals for the second consecutive season.

A point guard in high school, Snodgrass played shooting guard throughout much of his freshman year of college. Rukavina needed a point guard after the Mountain Cats lost their top two scorers — both guards — to graduation after last season.

In part because he wanted to be eligible to play right away, Snodgrass canvassed local Division II and Division III schools. He said his final choices were UPJ, Mercyhurst and Washington & Jefferson.

“We were recruiting two or three point guards, and we didn't get any of them,” said Rukavina, whose team went 15-13 last season. “So we'd been scrambling. You look at so many guys on film, but I wouldn't want to just bring in any guy.

“All of a sudden I get this email from Nate saying he was interested, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is an absolutely perfect fit.'”

Snodgrass sounds content at feeling likewise. He's hoping the third time's the charm when it comes to finding a college.

“There weren't any real major issues (at Northern Kentucky); I just wanted to come closer to home and to work on the academic side of things because that's what's going to matter later in life,” Snodgrass said.

“I think I made the right decision this time. I'm close to home in a good academic situation. I'm definitely relieved to get it over with and get everything out of the way so I can just focus on next year's school.”

Chris Adamski is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.