The Reno Bighorns have been a fixture in the past in Winnemucca, playing a couple G-League games at Lowry High Schoo in a packed the gym.
The Bighorns were back in Winnemucca last week for a two-day camp led by head coach Darrick Martin.
Martin is a 13-year veteran of the NBA. He played basketball for more than a decade, shuttling between the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), where he won the 2003 CBA Playoffs MVP, and the NBA.
In 2003, he played for the Harlem Globetrotters and then went on to play for the Los Angeles Lightning of the Independent Basketball Association (IBL). He was named the head coach of Reno in June 2016.
Martin, who attended UCLA, played for the Vancouver Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
The Bighorns coaching staff was aided by former and current Lowry High School basketball players.
“It was really enjoyable to come out here,” Martin said. “I have been doing kids camps for 13 years when I was in the NBA. I got away from it, once I got into coaching, but to have the opportunity to do it again is really cool. To see the kids’ faces light up was just a joy. You could see they take basketball seriously here. They were already asking if we were coming back next year.”
The camp featured nearly 90 children, the largest turnout for the Reno Bighorns.
The campers learned a number of drills during the two days, but were also taught what to look forward in the future. There were small classes to talk about college and saving and learning about finances.
“The biggest thing I told them is find their passion,” Smith said. “It doesn’t have to be basketball. To have them learn different skill sets is huge for me. That is why we like to bring groups in to talk to them. It is good to prepare them for the future.”
