Coach Jesse Canchola (left) and PCHS sophomore Amare Rosas play in the Glenn Wasson tournament at the high school last weekend.
The Glenn Wasson Memorial basketball tournament and fundraiser is older than some of the players at last weekend's games.
Jesse Canchola (Class of 2002) remembers Wasson well and fondly. He wants his legacy to live on.
In 2002, Wasson assisted coach Lance Condie when the Mustangs won the league championship and were state runners up.
Needles took the top spot. Canchola was a Mustang shooting guard with four years of basketball under Wasson, Steve Cerini and Condie.
He says they taught him the value of hard work and discipline “as foundations for success both on and off the field.”
Aaron Kienbaum (Class of 2024) leaps for a basket.
"Coach Wasson was always there for me. He'd slip me the keys to the colony gym so I could shoot around. I've organized the tournament for the past two years but played in it as a 'younger me' for years. I've won it several times over the years as a player. I'm just trying to keep the tradition going."
Teams from Reno, California, Idaho and Lovelock played in both high school gyms all weekend. Saturday was a round robin with each team guaranteed four games.
A seeded single elimination took place on Sunday.
At least a dozen current and former Mustang basketball players participated.
The teams carried on Wasson's famed sense of humor with names like the Buzzards, Old and Wasted and the Bumbling Idiots.
The others were Waters, the Windy City Assassins, Reno's Finest, Splash Brothers, Bucketgetters, Netkings, Native Ways and Common Treasures. Common Treasures, a
Reno team, walked away with the trophy.
Wasson was born in Schurz and graduated from PCHS in 1969.
He was a member of the Lovelock Paiute Tribe and was the Tribal chairman for many years.
Today, Canchola teaches job readiness (JAG) and coaches varsity boys basketball at PCHS. The Northern 2A named him the Coach of the Year for 2022-2023.
“What I learned this year from Condie and Cerini was ‘be a good person.’ It’s what matters most,” said Canchola.
"The tournament had a great turnout with some good teams. It's fun to see a new age of players earn their stripes as the old try to hold their ground on the courts," he said. "This was one of the best tournaments yet. Glenn was a great man and will not be forgotten."