Eric Snow

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Eric Snow

Position	Point guard
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers
Jersey	#20
Born	April 24, 1973 (1973-04-24) (age 35) Canton, Ohio
Nationality	American
High school	Canton McKinley
College	Michigan State
Draft	2nd round, 43rd overall, 1995 Milwaukee Bucks
Pro career	1995–present
Former teams	Seattle SuperSonics (1995–1998) Philadelphia 76ers (1998–2004)
Awards	2000 NBA Sportsmanship Award 2005 National Basketball Players Association Community Contribution Award 2005 J. Walker Kennedy Citizenship Award

Eric Snow (born April 24, 1973 in Canton, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA.

[edit] High School career

Snow began his basketball career at Canton McKinley High School, where he played with classmate and former NBA player Michael Hawkins. Snow graduated high school in 1991, and enrolled at Michigan State University.

[edit] College career

At Michigan State, Snow teamed with classmate and fellow star Shawn Respert to lead some of head coach Jud Heathcote's most exciting teams. In his senior season, the Spartans earned a #3 seed to the 1995 NCAA Tournament, but were upset in the very first round by Weber State.

[edit] NBA career

After college, Snow was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 1995 NBA Draft. He has played for three teams in his NBA career, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Snow has averaged 7.6 points and 5.3 assists per game throughout his career. As a pass-first, defensive-minded point guard, he became a staple of Larry Brown's defense, and offensive chemistry during his tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers. Snow was able to guard the opposing shooting guards, which enabled diminutive-sized superstar Allen Iverson and him to be paired in the backcourt.

Snow has reached the NBA Finals three times, once with each of the NBA teams he has been on: the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996, the Philadelphia 76ers in 2001 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. All three teams lost in the finals.

Snow now serves as an on the court/bench coach to the Cavaliers as well as a defensive specialist and captain alongside LeBron James. In the playoffs he was known to be very vocal to the team with his charismatic leadership skills.

[edit] 2004-2005

On July 20, 2004, Snow was traded to the Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown. Snow played in 81 games (starting 15). He was suspended without pay for a December 18, 2004 game against the Boston Celtics after a confrontation with Paul Silas, the coach of the Cavaliers.^[1] It was the only game that Snow missed in his first three years with the Cavaliers.

Snow averaged 4.0 points and 3.9 assists per game.^[2] He had a season high 16 points on January 22, 2005 against the Golden State Warriors and a season high 13 assists on April 19, 2005 against the Boston Celtics (which is also his high assist total as a Cavalier).^[3] Snow ranked fifth in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.56).

[edit] 2005-2006

Snow played in and started all 82 games for the Cavaliers. He averaged 4.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.^[2] His point and assist averages are his highest as a Cavalier. He had a season high 14 points on two occasions and a season high 11 assists on March 7, 2006 against the Toronto Raptors.^[4]

Snow started all 13 playoff games for the Cavaliers. He upped his scoring average to 6.6 points per game and had an 18 point game in a Game 5 victory over the Washington Wizards during the first round of the playoffs.

[edit] 2006-2007

For the fifth time in his career, Snow played in all 82 games (starting 45). He averaged 4.3 points and 4.0 assists per game.^[2] He had a season high 18 points on January 13, 2007 against the Los Angeles Clippers (which is also his high point total in the regular season as a Cavalier) and a season high 11 assists on January 20, 2007 against the Golden State Warriors.^[5]

On January 30, 2007, Daniel Gibson was asserted in place of Snow in the Cavaliers' starting lineup, bringing an end to a streak of starts that lasted for 127 games. As a starter in the 2006-2007 season, Snow averaged 5.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.^[6]

Snow played in 19 of the 20 Cavaliers playoff games. He averaged 1.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

[edit] 2007-2008

In his 13th NBA season, Snow played in 22 games and started five. He averaged 1.0 points and 1.9 assists per game.^[2] He had a season high five points on December 2, 2007 against the Boston Celtics and a season high six assists on December 15, 2007 against the Philadelphia 76ers.^[7] As a starter, Snow averaged four assists per game.^[8]

On March 11, 2008, it was announced that Snow would miss four to six weeks due to arthritic-related symptoms in his left knee.^[9] He did not play another game for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007-2008 regular season.

Eric Snow was also named captain of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007-2008 season, along with LeBron James.^[10]

Snow was named a candidate for the job of head coach of the Chicago Bulls, according to his agent, Steve Kauffman.^[11]

[edit] Personal life

Snow is the younger brother of former linebacker Percy Snow, who played at Michigan State University and for both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears of the NFL.^[12] Eric Snow has stated he would like to coach after his NBA playing career is over.

Snow was the 2005 recipient of the J. Walker Kennedy Citizenship Award presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association.

Snow received the 2005 National Basketball Players Association Community Contribution Award at the 2005 All-Star Game.

Snow was selected as the NBA Sportsmanship Award winner for the 1999-2000 season and was selected as the Atlantic Division winner of the 1998-99 NBA Sportsmanship Award.

Snow started founded the "Shoot for the Moon" Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting and strengthening communities and families within the northeast section of Ohio, through an emphasis and concentration on community activities aimed at empowering and encouraging fathers.^[13]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Eric Snow Info Page at NBA.com
• Eric Snow Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Eric Snow - Official Site
• Shoot for the Moon Foundation

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