BUTLER TWP — Talk about well-schooled.

Nate Snodgrass qualifies in the classroom and on the court.

The Butler High junior is in his third year as the Golden Tornado's starting point guard. He ranks No. 1 in his junior class with a 4.39 grade point average.

“It's rare to see a kid this dedicated in this day and age,” Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement said. “Nate lives for basketball and he's gearing himself for the next level.”

Snodgrass hopes that next level is the Ivy League. He certainly has the game and the grades for it.

“Ultimately, that's where I want to be,” Snodgrass said of the Ivy League. “There are other possibilities out there for me, though.”

In terms of his basketball development, Snodgrass is truly a product of his environment.

He's been playing organized ball since third grade. He played on the late Howie Ruppert's North Pittsburgh AAU team for four years.

Snodgrass played on Butler's fourth grade team in third grade, the fifth-grade team in fourth grade. He played on the Tornado's freshman team as an eighth-grader before starting at point guard as a freshman on the varsity team.

“That freshman team wound up 21-1 with Nate playing as an eighth-grader,” his father, Roger Snodgrass, said. “When the coaches wanted to move him up, I was OK with it as long as he played and didn't sit the bench.

“At that point in his career, Nate needed to play. If they weren't going to play him, just send him back to the eighth-grade team.”

He played.

And he never stops playing.

Clement said Snodgrass takes thousands of shots — primarily free throws — on his own.

“Other kids his age are playing video games, going to parties or hanging out, he's in the gym shooting free throws,” Clement said.

“It's one thing to make those shots in an empty gym. It's another to make them in the fourth quarter in a packed gym. Nate's got the poise. He's something like 67 of 71 from the line in the fourth quarter, something crazy like that.”

Snodgrass estimates shooting up to 200 free throws on his own every day. He averages close to 90 percent from the line.

“I'm the point guard, so the ball is going to be in my hands when we're trying to close out games and I have to make those shots,” he said. “It's become second-nature for me.

“It doesn't matter how loud it is, if people are there watching or not. Put the ball in the basket.”

Snodgrass helps other players do that as well. He averaged 5.1 assists per game as a sophomore and had 31 steals.

Through three games this season, he's compiled plenty of assists, averages 12 points per game, scored five points in less than a second at the end of a game and has guarded the opponent's biggest scoring threat in two contests.

“He's amazing,” senior center Bobby Swartwout said. “The way he handles the ball is just unreal. Nate beats double-teams all of the time.

“His eyes are always up. Three defenders can be right in his face and he'll make the right pass to the right guy.”

Austin Snodgrass, Nate's brother, also played basketball at Butler and was an occasional starter.

“Austin wasn't a real talented player, but he was an extremely smart player. That's what earned him his time on the floor,” Mr. Snodgrass said. “He is four years older than Nate, but Nate was always good enough to play ball with Austin and his buddies. That helped accelerate that learning curve, too.

Snodgrass credits his older brother with helping his development as a point guard.

“Austin knows this game inside and out,” he said. “I picked up on a lot through working with him.”

He picked up other things through being coached by Ruppert, the longtime Shaler High School varsity coach.

“Honestly, I'm the player I am today because of Coach Ruppert,” Snodgrass said. “Passing drills, pushing the ball ... He was a master of that stuff. I miss him. I want to succeed for him.”

North Hills coach Buzz Gabos said he felt helpless when his team trailed Butler in the closing minutes.

“They get the ball to Snodgrass and you can't take it off him,” Gabos said. “Foul him and he puts them in. What are you supposed to do?”

Clement has no answer for that. He's just happy Snodgrass is on his team.

“Knowing I was going to have the opportunity to coach that kid was among the reasons I wanted this job,” Clement said. “Nate Snodgrass has been groomed to play this game.

“Where can he go from here? The sky's the limit.”