On Saturday, Lovelock and Pershing County High School remembered the basketball coach who made everyone smile, Glenn Wasson (1950-2008). His athletes called him Coach Wass.
Basketball games raged from sunup until sundown in both Pershing County High School gyms.
In the big gym, the A team played aggressive, fast-paced basketball. The older, mellower B team played a gentler game in the small gym.
On a table, two gleaming trophies towered toward the sky. Wasson’s sister Sherri Sandusky placed a photograph of her brother alongside them.
Meanwhile, Wasson’s great-nephew, Derek, sank 3-pointers on the court.
The Glenn Wasson Memorial Fundraiser Basketball Tournament raises money for the PCHS girls and boys basketball teams.
Varsity girls basketball coach, Lee Houston, organized the event.
“But I had a lot of help,” he said.
Jason Allen and others coached. Coaches Alex Graham and Sara Haynie worked the concession stand.
Sixteen male teams from all over northern Nevada displayed their skills and stamina. Coach Wass’s humor showed up in their names — the Fernley Failures, the Most Hated and the Wet Bandits.
At the end of the day the Trojans took home a trophy for the A team. The Most Hated grabbed the gold for the B team.
Wassen’s former athletes still love the sport. Many, like Jason Allen, grew up to be coaches themselves.
“Coach Wass was hilarious and always made us laugh,” said Allen.
Houston agreed.
“Wass was a great teacher of the game,” he said. “He had a knack for explaining it in terms the players could truly understand. He kept the bus trips entertaining and we miss him to this day.”
