WOLFERETTI: Thank goodness for that lingering Snell

Have we stopped to examine what rivalry basketball really looks like in this new era of college hoops?

Think about it. We’re NC State fans – we show up year in and year out. The players come and go, but the game has changed. The way things used to be simply isn’t the way they are now.

Freshmen once arrived to teams loaded with upperclassmen who had already been through the gauntlet. Those veterans schooled the newcomers on what the NC State-UNC rivalry truly meant. They shared personal stories from their own battles in those games, retold the legends passed down to them, and even pulled out old newspaper clippings with disrespectful quotes that stoked the fire and fueled the hatred.

Today, the landscape is unrecognizable.

NIL has flipped everything on its head. Heck, almost the entire NC State roster wasn’t even here last year. These players have no deep-rooted connection to the program. Like it or not, everything we’ve lived through as Wolfpack fans is just history to them—something they’ve learned secondhand.

For many, Raleigh is a one-year stop before the next chapter. So how invested can we realistically expect them to be in a rivalry that predates their arrival?

Usually, at least the coaching staff carries institutional memory of the rivalry. But even that isn’t true here. Wade and his staff have done an excellent job messaging why this game matters, but at the end of the day, it’s new to them, too. And to top it off, the ACC’s scheduling quirks mean UNC and NC State only face off once this season. It’s easy to see how the passion in this rivalry could have faded.

But it didn’t, and you can thank a walk-on from Panther Creek High School in Cary, NC, for keeping the flame alive.

Jordan Snell has been with the Wolfpack since 2022. He’s got all kinds of connections: His dad, Steve Snell, served as director of operations for the men’s basketball team. His mom, Ann Snell, was inducted into the Rio Grande Hall of Fame in 2019 for her basketball career. He’s also cousins with NBA superstar Steph Curry. And he helped lead Panther Creek to the NCHSAA 4A State Championship game.

Here’s a highlight reel from his high school days to prove it…

Over his four years at NC State, Snell saw limited garbage-time minutes, hit a few threes, and became a fan favorite while proving himself a great teammate.

When Keatts departed and Wade arrived, the new staff cleaned house. It looked like almost everyone was gone—except perhaps Paul McNeil Jr. Yet, without much fanfare, Wade chose to keep Snell around. That quiet decision paid massive dividends.

McNeil was a freshman last season, so his experience with UNC was minimal. Snell, on the other hand, grew up playing high school ball right outside Raleigh and had spent three years immersed in the rivalry from the NC State side.

He understood what it meant—not just to the players and coaches, but to the fanbase and the entire community. No one else in the program could articulate that passion from the inside the way Jordan Snell could.

Wade recognized it too, and he addressed it in his postgame comments:

“We were meeting yesterday and had to kind of walk Snell back a little bit. He was going a little bit – you could tell how important it was to him. I was sitting there thinking the season’s not over if we lose tomorrow. Snell was like, we’re just gonna pack our bags and go home if we can’t win. But that’s the pride that you want. That’s the excitement that you want. In today’s transfer portal age, it’s important that you got guys that have pride and keep the rivalry like it is.”  – Will Wade

Snell spoke about his role postgame as well, explaining what he told the team:

“My job was really just to tell these guys the importance. We’ve had amazing crowds this whole year, but I told them the tension in the building was going to be a lot different.” – Jordan Snell

And the players listened. Matt Able highlighted it after the game:

“Snell obviously, and Ven, they emphasized the meaning of this to them, and it was just a great experience for me to go in and play well and get the win for these guys, because at the end of the day, this was for them really. And obviously, I’m here to sustain this for me too, but I really wanted to win this for them.” – Matt Able

NC State came out and delivered one of its most complete performances of the season. Guys who knew virtually nothing about this Tobacco Road rivalry played with authentic passion, showing they truly understood what the game meant.

A big part of that? You can thank Jordan Snell.