Prospect Spotlight: Hunter Snyder (2019)
After exceeding expectations last season, Pleasant Valley will have plenty of high hopes heading into the 2018-19 winter.
Hunter Snyder will once again be the focal point of the Spartans’ potential success.
The 6-foot-3 small forward was instrumental to the team’s triumphs last season, and it’s his ability to do a little bit of everything on the floor that made him such a threat.
You can plan on him being bigger, better and more athletic next season.
“My ability to shoot the 3 is a strength, and I’ve been working on getting to the hole and finishing there. I’m trying to work on my legs a little bit, so I can jump higher and get off the ground a little better,” said Snyder.
He averaged 12.1 points per game as a junior at PV, and was getting it done defensively, too, while leading the team in steals.
And with Bettendorf and Muscatine on the schedule, he was able to guard arguably the state’s two best players.
“We did a lot better than we thought we would at first. We played really well throughout the a season. I think we did a really good job of playing defense, that’s our biggest strength, and one of my biggest strengths, personally. I had to guard DJ and Joe, so it was a fun season,” said Snyder.
Next season, with Snyder and Carter Duwa returning, the expectations will be sky-high.
“We’re going to be pretty small next year, and me and Carter are going to have to do a lot of scoring and a lot of talking; we’re going to have to be good leaders for the younger guys.” said Snyder. “But I think we can be pretty good again next season if we do what we’re supposed to do.”
In the meantime, Snyder, along with Duwa, will be playing together on one of the Iowa’s best AAU teams, Iowa Prep Red 17U.
“It’s always fun to get to know the new people and play with new guys, and all the guys are fun to play with,” said Snyder. “It’s going to be a fun July, hopefully we can play well and win some games.”
With July having live NCAA live evaluation periods, Snyder hopes to see a spike in his recruitment. He’s been hearing from D3 and NAIA programs so far.
“I’ve gotten a lot of emails from Simpson and Coe, and I know Dordt has been talking to me a lot, they called me the other day,” said Snyder, who mentioned Dordt has been in contact with him the most.
“NAIA and D3 is where it’s standing out right now. I’m hoping to possibly get D2, but D3 is what I’m seeing mostly right now.”
Hunter Snyder is ranked by Prep Hoops as a top 50 prospect in his class. To see the full ranking of Iowa’s 2019 class, click here.