James Beltran
Sports Editor
Making his homecoming to Houston, Memphis forward Omar Sneed had plenty of incentive to play well.
The Westbrook High School graduate originally signed with UH out of high school but, due to an unfortunate altercation, ended up at Memphis, where he has taken a prominent role on a contending conference championship team.
"When things are going good, things are going good," said Sneed on Thursday after he poured in 28 points against his "would-be" team.
"Would-be" is a necessary word due to an incident which occurred shortly after Sneed committed to UH.
While on campus during a summer session, Sneed allegedly stole a book from a bookstore, prompting then-Athletic Director Bill Carr to restrict coach Alvin Brooks from signing Sneed.
"He was a young kid who made a mistake," Brooks said. "We all make mistakes. I still wanted to sign the kid, but my bosses told me not to.
"I knew Memphis was recruiting him hard, and I did not want to play against him, but that's the way it turned out," Brooks said regretfully. "He still holds a grudge about what happened."
Was Thursday's game a grudge match? "You could say that," Sneed said.
He would comment no further on the matter, but admitted playing against the Cougars was motivating.
"There's extra emotion coming back and playing against Brooks, the guy who signed me out of high school," he said. "I think I was really pumped up."
Memphis coach Tic Price said Sneed didn't let the emotion deter his game. "Coming back home was an extra incentive for him," he said. "He kept it in perspective, though. He wasn't overly vocal. He just wanted to come out and have a good game."
Sneed said he has adjusted well to life away from Houston.
"It was a bumpy road at first," Sneed said. "I'm happy now. Memphis is a great city and a great basketball town."