Tony Snell

The team allowed just 59.3 points per game, the lowest ever for the Lobos in the shot clock era, and they held opponents under 40% shooting for the first time since the 1964–65 season.

Their scoring defense was fourteenth nationally, and their defensive field goal percentage was seventh.

Snell was among several young guards battling for playing time going into the season, as senior and three-year starter Phillip McDonald was hampered by injury.

Snell earned a starting spot after "tearing it up in practice" and playing well in preseason exhibition games.

He was capable of explosive scoring, but he was also prone to becoming tentative and falling into slumps.

He scored in double-figures in twenty games, including three games over 20, twice scoring 24, hitting six threes in one of those games; yet he also scored six or fewer points in eleven games, going scoreless for two straight games at one point.

For the season, Snell averaged 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists a game.

The Lobos won thirteen straight early in the season on the way to a 15–2 record.

They lost their next two games to No. 16 San Diego State and at No. 14 UNLV but then won seven straight, avenging those losses and climbing into the top twenty with a 22–4 record.

After two upset losses they settled for a share of the MWC regular season championship.

In the conference tournament semi-finals, the Lobos won at No. 20 UNLV, with Snell accounting for 15 points, six rebounds, and six assists.

The Lobos won the championship game over number 18 San Diego State, as Snell scored 14, shooting 4-6 from three, and was named to the All-Tournament team.

New Mexico received a five-seed in the NCAA tournament, but Snell was a non-factor, shooting a combined 1-9 (1-8 from three) and scoring just three points as the Lobos beat Long Beach State then lost to Final Four-bound Louisville.

The Lobos finished the season 28–7, and Snell was named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West.

Tony Rena Snell Jr. (born November 10, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League.

He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos.

Snell attended Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, in 2008–09, where he and teammate Kawhi Leonard, a future two-time NBA Finals MVP, led the Wolves to a 30–3 season and a number 7 national ranking in the MaxPreps/National Guard computer rankings.

Snell averaged 14 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, and five assists per game.

In 2009 Snell enrolled at Westwind Preparatory Academy in Phoenix, where he averaged 19.5 points, 10 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.8 blocks.

In 2009, ESPN scouting reports called Snell "one of the top sleepers on the West Coast" and a "diamond in the rough".

Snell committed to play for the New Mexico Lobos on September 15, 2009, and signed in November 2009.

The 2010-11 Lobo squad was young and inexperienced, led by lone senior Dairese Gary and UCLA transfer Drew Gordon.

Snell was one of four freshmen playing significant minutes, along with Kendall Williams, Alex Kirk, and Cameron Bairstow, one of the most accomplished recruiting classes in Lobo history.

The team had a roller-coaster season, starting 10-1 and later winning four straight twice, but also losing four straight and six of nine.

They beat number 3 BYU in Provo late in the season, but lost to the Cougars in the MWC tournament.

The Lobos received a bid to the 2011 National Invitation Tournament and beat UTEP before losing at Alabama to finish the season 22–13.

Snell played in all but one game, averaging 4.4 points and two rebounds.

He scored in double-figures four times and led the team in scoring twice.

He had a breakout performance with 16 points against then-number 9 BYU, hitting four three-pointers, followed two games later by a season-best 19, with five threes, against Wyoming.

He started seven games, averaging 8.3 points in his starts, and in one seven-game stretch he averaged 10.3 points a game and shot 17-31 (.548) from three.

A sprained ankle late in the season limited his play and cut his production, as he managed just 11 points in the last eight games of the season.

The Lobos in 2011-12 were anchored by the dominant inside play of Gordon, who tallied 19 double-doubles and whose 11.1 rebounds per game were fourth in the nation.

The 2012-13 Lobos again relied on tough defense and a balanced scoring attack, often coming from behind to grind out close wins.

The team held opponents to sixty points a game and again held them under 40% shooting, while going 10–2 in games decided by six or fewer points.

While Williams led the team at just 13.3 points a game, four players averaged in double-figures, and seven Lobo players led the team in scoring in individual games.

Snell led the team in ten games, including five straight during a late stretch when he averaged 19.8 a game and shot 22-39 (.564) from three-point range.

He was drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.

Born in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Snell moved to Phoenix, Arizona before his senior year to finish high school at Westwind Preparatory Academy.

Snell was the starting shooting guard for the New Mexico Lobos in his sophomore and junior seasons, helping lead the Lobos to back-to-back Mountain West Conference (MWC) regular season and conference tournament championships as well as NCAA tournament bids.

At Westwind he was a teammate of Jamaal Franklin, who went on to play for San Diego State University and was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013.