Wolf Pack fan favorite Charlie Tooley will transfer to another school

Charlie Tooley, the Wolf Pack basketball team's fan favorite who sparked one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball history, will transfer.

The walk-on from Granite Bay, Calif., announced on his Twitter page he will seek another school after finishing his sophomore season at Nevada.

"First off, I would like to thank Coach Muss and the entire coaching staff for the opportunity to play basketball and further my education at Nevada over the past two years," Tooley wrote. "I truly appreciate everything you have done for me. The experience I have had here has taught me a lot and is something I will never forget.

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"With that being said, I have made the decision to further my collegiate basketball career elsewhere. Thank you Wolf Pack nation for your unreal support and love. This place will always have a special place in my heart. To my teammates, you guys are brothers to me and I'll be supporting you no matter what."

Tooley, a 6-foot, 195-pound left-handed guard, played in 32 games in his Wolf Pack career. He scored 17 points with six rebounds and three steals while shooting 5-of-16 from the field (5-of-15 from three). He played 57 minutes at Nevada, including 40 in his freshman season and 17 in his sophomore campaign.

None were bigger than during a 105-104 overtime win at New Mexico in 2016-17.

Nevada trailed by 25 points with 11 minutes left; was down 19 with 4:27 left; was down 14 with 1:10 left; and was down nine with 49 seconds left. After trailing 90-76 with 70 seconds left, it posted one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, sparked when Tooley hit a step-back 3-pointer with 1:04 left to cut the deficit to 90-79. Nevada went on to make its final six shots of regulation, all threes, before winning late in overtime.

Tooley was put on scholarship for the second semester last season after one opened up following the dismissal of center Darien Williams at the semester break. Coach Eric Musselman surprised him during a hustle drill in a February practice by ripping off his shirt and having the scholarship papers taped to his back.

“Being a walk-on at the college level isn’t easy,” Musselman said at the time. “There is a certain level of mental and physical toughness that you need to have to come to practice day in and day out, compete with scholarship players knowing you may only get a few minutes when it is game day. It takes a special person with a special mindset. The confidence, work ethic and wiliness to sacrifice for the team that you exemplify on a consistent basis are core values in every good walk-on.”

Tooley is one of nine walk-ons during Musselman's tenure, although he's the most noteworthy of the batch. Late in blowout wins, fans would chant "TOO! LEY! TOO! LEY!" to get him on the court. Tooley is the only one of those walk-ons to last two full seasons since Musselman took over the team in March 2015.

His departure leaves Nevada with two walk-ons: John Jones, the son of associate head coach Johnny Jones, and Zach Wurm, a local from Bishop Manogue. Isaiah Rhymes, a 6-3 guard from Phoenix, is expected to walk on at Nevada next season. He averaged 21.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals as a senior at Carl Hayden High School, shooting 39 percent from the field, including 30 percent from three.

Tooley will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next school, plus the use of a redshirt season since he played in his first year at Nevada.