The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1285691
16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Steve Snell can still remember the first time he met NC State men's basketball head coach Kevin Keatts, and it had nothing to do with hoops. It was when Ke- atts was an upperclassmen in high school attending a football camp at Wingate, where Snell was an assistant coach in hoops. Ironically, Snell had gotten his start in coaching in football, working as an assis- tant at a local high school in Roanoke, Va. Not knowing exactly what a volunteer as- sistant was, Snell took up an offer from Radford University basketball coach Oliver Purnell — who would later coach at Clemson — to be a volunteer assistant. That was Snell's accidental start on a now 35-year career as a college basketball coach. His latest step is rejoining his friend Keatts as NC State basketball's new direc- tor of operations. The two have talked before about teaming up. Snell and Keatts became close friends when Keatts took the head coaching job at Hargrave Mili- tary Academy. When Keatts became the head man at UNC Wilmington, the two talked, and then again when Keatts was at NC State. "Lo and behold, he called [in May] and said, 'Let's talk,'" Snell recalled. "Timing and everything, it worked out for the better. I'm glad to be here." That's partially because Snell grew up in the ACC. He was a fan of Maryland because he noted everyone in Radford, Va., was either a Virginia or UNC fan, and he didn't want to join them. "Those epic battles of Michael Jordan and Len Bias, those games and just all the battles in the ACC, it really was special," Snell remembered. Snell helped Keatts get his start in college coaching. Snell convinced his old boss at Marshall, Greg White, to hire Keatts as an assistant. Snell has also worked at Tulane, Denver, Santa Clara, Air Force, Louisiana Monroe, East Ten- nessee State, UNC Greensboro, Wingate and Radford in his three decades of experience. Director of operations is a new role for him, but he is excited to work with his friend Keatts. "He's got that it factor," Snell said. "I can't tell you what it is, but he has it. … He has that personality that people gravitate to. You want to be around him. He's a serious guy when he has to be but he's a fun-loving guy when he has to be. … If you talk to Kevin today at the coffee shop, you would never know he's the head coach at NC State University." — Matt Carter/Photo courtesy of Santa Clara University wolfpacker spotlight STEVE SNELL Men's Basketball Director Of Operations