Joel Ascher’s players never forgot him.
Years later, they would return, attending an annual reunion in honor of the man who taught them about basketball and life at August Martin High School in South Jamaica, Queens. Even in his final days, three players — Nicole Browne, Yolanda Wilson and Wally Vega — were around him frequently, helping him get to doctor appointments and take care of menial tasks.
“Very loving and caring, always willing to go above and beyond for anyone for anything,” said Wilson, who graduated in 1991. “His heart was just made of gold. I don’t think there’s enough words to express to describe what a great, awesome man, father, coach, friend he was.”
Monday night, those players lost a man they considered a father to them. Ascher died at the age of 83, suffering a heart attack in his Rego Park, Queens home. He never married or had children.
“He didn’t personally have his own kids, but he made sure that we felt the love of a father from him,” Vega said. “He loved us all. Each of us have a unique memory of him.”
Browne fondly recalled how Ascher would go out of his way to be there for her. When she gave birth to her son five years ago, he waited at the hospital for six hours to see the newborn. When she attended Lackawanna (Pa.) College, he made the trip with her, moving her in, making sure all the facilities were working. Another player, Heather Hoard, held him in such high regard, she needed Ascher’s blessing before marrying her future husband. It was Ascher who introduced her to basketball, leading to her landing a full scholarship to Northeastern Illinois.
“Daddy ‘Asch’ was everything to us,” Hoard said. “He’s literally the epitome of what a father is supposed to be.”
He retired prior to the 2009-10 season due to painful arthritis in his legs, hips and back, after leading August Martin to 12 city championships — in the span of 14 years — and four state titles across 30 mostly successful seasons, developing the program into the city’s best at the height of his tenure. More than100 of Ascher’s players went on to college, playing for the likes of Stanford, Wisconsin and UCLA. He also coached softball in the spring at August Martin.
“He was like the father of girls basketball in the city as far as I’m concerned,” said Ed Grezinsky, the former Murry Bergtraum girls basketball coach. “I was getting started in the 1990s and he was the guy I always looked up to. You wanted your program to someday be what his program was.”
Ascher stressed fundamentals and team ball and was known for his blunt honesty and deep affection for his players. He was quiet during games, sitting on the bench, observing rather than yelling.
“He would stand at the end of the bench with one leg propped up on the chair and his elbow on this knee, his fist under his chin and watch that game,” recalled former John Jay and Bishop Ford coach John LoSasso, who lost four times to Ascher in the city finals. “Here I am going crazy with strategy trying to figure out things, make changes, and no matter what it’s like he’d be unperturbed.”
Most important to him was his players’ lives after basketball, helping them get a free education that would set them up for success.
“I just don’t want the [borough] of Queens to forget him,” Hoard said, fighting back tears. “He was such a great person. That’s my father.”
— Additional reporting by Joseph Staszewski
