Missouri zeroed in on four candidates to replace Norm Stewart as men's basketball head coach in 1999: Bill Self, John Calipari, Kim Anderson and Quin Snyder. They picked Snyder over two future Hall of Famers.
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Norm Stewart retired on April 1, 1999, after 32 seasons as head coach, sending Missouri on their first coaching search in more than three decades since they plucked Stewart from the State College of Iowa (now Northern Iowa) in 1967. Five days later, they agreed to terms with a replacement, 32-year-old Duke assistant Quin Snyder.
The move was lauded at the time. Snyder had just five years of coaching experience but was widely regarded as one of the best assistants and recruiters in the country — if not the best. He played at Duke and after one year on the Los Angeles Clippers' staff (1992-93) returned to Durham as an administrative assistant.
"Quin Snyder has impressed everyone involved with this search over the last several days," said then-athletics director Michael Alden in a release on April 7, the day Snyder's hiring was announced. "Last Thursday, we began calling athletic directors, conference commissioners, basketball coaches, television analysts and others for coaching recommendations and Quin's name came up on every list. We feel fortunate that we have been able to attract a coach with such impressive credentials."
MORE: Mind-Blowing Numbers From KU's Big 12 Streak
While Snyder had some success in Columbia — three 20-win seasons and four NCAA Tournament berths — two of the other finalists have had a lot of success. Self and Calipari have combined for six Final Fours and a billion wins.
Snyder became the "leading candidate," according to the Associated Press when Bill Self and John Calipari removed themselves from consideration. Self was the 36-year-old second-year Tulsa head coach who was days removed from a 23-win season that included the program's seventh all-time tournament win. Calipari was a 40-year-old unemployed coach who was fired by the New Jersey Nets three weeks earlier. Anderson, ironically, got the job 15 years later but quickly flamed out.
Even 19 years later, it's still unclear exactly how each of the four ranked atop Missouri's priority list and if Calipari and Self's withdrawals made a difference. There have been numerous reports that Self and Snyder were the true finalists and the hiring committee was split on the two.
They picked Snyder. They did not pick Self.
Whoops.
