Bruin duo had on-court chemistry

By Mike Bush
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TEAMMATES AND NEIGHBORS, Trevor Hammitt, 17, left and Chris Snyder, 18 stand beneath the basketball hoop near Hammitt's house where the two have practiced together for ten years. Democrat photo by Shelly Thorene

SHINGLE SPRINGS — Trevor Hammitt and Chris Snyder know each other’s basketball skills well — mainly because the Ponderosa High basketball players grew up on the same road.

In 2003, Hammitt’s family moved from Pollock Pines to a home on Bocana Road in Cameron Park — just a few houses away from the Snyders. Chris was in first grade at the time and Trevor in second.

“He had a hoop in his backyard, and I came around and we always shot around,” recalled Chris of Trevor’s house.

The duo usually shot baskets after school almost every day during their elementary and middle school years. They usually shot after dinner and continued until the sun went down.

“We spent a lot of time playing in the yard together,” Trevor said.

The basketball chemistry between the two continued to develop in high school. Trevor, now a senior, was a three-year starter on Ponderosa’s varsity squad and started on the junior varsity team as a freshman. Snyder, a junior, was a starter on the JV team before moved up to the varsity squad at the start of the 2011-12 season.

“I think we’ve had that chemistry from growing up,” Chris said. “I think when we play together, it’s hard to stop us.”

This season, Chris averaged 15.2 points per game and Trevor 12.1 points. In addition, Trevor made 13 three-pointers, the second highest on the team. Chris averaged 6.3 rebounds per game.

Trevor knows where Chris is on the court close to 100 percent of the time.

“He’s one of the very few players in the program who knows if I have position, if I’m playing up, he can make that pass to me,” said Chris of Trevor. “He’s our team leader.”

This season was a tough one for both players as the team went winless in Delta River League action and finished the season at 8-19. But both players are confident there are better days ahead for the program under first-year coach Troy Selvey.

“Obviously the wins and losses weren’t there this year, we didn’t have as successful a season as we wanted to but that doesn’t mean this program isn’t moving forward,” Trevor said. “The togetherness that coach Selvey instilled in this program is something I’ve never experienced before. I have relationships with the sophomores and freshman that, when I was an underclassmen, I never had with the upperclassmen. So that’s something that I think is important in a program. Building relationships off the court will correlate on the court.”

Chris feels that the 2013-14 Ponderosa boys basketball team has a bright future. At the same time, he admits he’s going to miss his neighbor on the floor.

“He’s always been the guy to talk to me on the side to calm down and tell me what I should be doing,” Chris said. ”

Contact Mike Bush at 530-344-5079 or mbush@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @MBushMtDemo on Twitter.