#23 Jim Snyder
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6'5" 200 lbs Center
HS: Olean Olean, NY
Born:  
Season Stats
Season Cl Pos G GS FG FGA % FT FTA % Reb Fls DQ Pts PPG RPG
1954-55 So C 21 14 64  
41 70 58.6%   70   169 8.0
0.0
1955-56 Jr C 22 16 117  
92 141 65.2%   55 - 326 14.8
0.0
1956-57 Sr C/F 25 9 91 243 37.4% 70 121 57.9% 198 56 - 252 10.2
7.9
Career    
68
39
272
+243
---
203
332
61.1%
+198
181
-
747
11.0
0.0

Jim Snyder was a center for Syracuse basketball for three seasons.

Jim Syracuse Syracuse BasketballSnyder started at center his sophomore season, and provided Syracuse with a big man in the center of the court. He would score 22 points in his varsity debut in a loss to Canisius. The Orangemen would struggle midseason, and coach Marc Guley moved classmate Gary Clark to center in order to get a faster, but smaller, team on the court.

Snyder would start his junior year as a reserve, but Guley would switch back to a taller lineup at the end of December, insert Snyder back at center. Snyder would lead Syracuse to an overtime victory against Cornell with a career high 37 points, including hitting 15 of 20 free throw attempts. Later in the month, Snyder would come up big again with a 34 point night against rival Penn State in a 75-66 victory. He would finish the season as the Orangemen's second leading scorer.

Jon Cincebox joined the team during Snyder's senior season, and Cincebox while young, was a strong presence inside. Guley tried a lineup with Clark, Cincebox and Snyder all on the court, but eventually, he had to move Snyder to the bench as the top reserve. Cincebox struggled down the stretch and Snyder moved back into the startyign lineup. He led the Orangemen in scoring with 24 against Cornell in a late season victory. The Orangemen would make their first NCAA tournament appearance, and Snyder would continue starting. The Orangemen would make it to the Elite Eight before losing to #1 ranked North Carolina.

Snyder would serve in the army following graduation. He would work for AAA of Western and Central New York for 40 years, eventually serving as a Vice President.

Snyder would have a long active career in politics upon graduation. He would serve on the Cattaraugus County Legislature for a few decades, and was the chairman of the council for 13 years. From 1991-1993 he livd in Washington D.C. and served as a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush. [1]

©RLYoung 2014, 2017

[Note: Missing some statistics from two games in the 1955-56 season noted by the +]

[1] Olean City School District Foundation Profile of Jim Snyder