He lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps Gus Macker Basketball. And when it comes to the “Cadillac of three-on-three basketball tournaments,” no one gets more excited than Scott McNeal.
The namesake behind the franchise came to Jamestown recently to promote the community’s 14th annual Gus Macker Tournament, which takes place June 4-6. He took time to meet with members of the local Macker Planning Committee and do some media interviews. In every presentation, Scott’s enthusiasm for Macker basketball comes shining through.
Holding center court at TRC’s Conference Center (and he literally was at center court, since the Conference Center is located in a converted school gymnasium), Scott talked about the history of Gus Macker Basketball.
The Macker began in 1974 when Scott was in high school in Lowell, Michigan. He and 17 friends decided to hold a tournament in the driveway of his parents’ home. Each person put in $1, with the winning team claiming the pot.
The event needed a name, and since it was played at Scott’s home with his mother handling much of the organizing, the tournament was given Scott’s nickname – Gus Macker.
The Macker became an annual event. It caught on with other people and began to grow. In 1979, the tournament spilled out of the McNeals’ driveway and into the street in front of his house. In 1985, Sports Illustrated ran a lengthy article about the tournament, and that national exposure helped the Macker become a phenomenon – the following year, 1,100 teams competed on 88 courts erected throughout the McNeals’ neighborhood.
In 1987, the tournament moved its home to Belding, MI, and launched the inaugural Macker national tour, with events in four cities. More cities joined the list, including Jamestown in 1997.
The Jamestown tournament has been played at four different venues over the years, but we have found a home on West Second and West Third streets, with the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice arena serving as the tournament’s focal point.
When the Macker went big time, Scott realized it was time to give up his job as a social studies teacher and basketball coach. He joked that his lack of basketball skills led to him becoming a coach, and that his lack of success at that level led him to “grow” the Macker franchise.
“If you can’t play, you coach; and if you can’t coach, you make your own tournament and run around the country.” Gus Macker Basketball is a double-elimination tournament. Teams are assigned to courts based on players’ age, gender and ability, and each court then becomes its own mini-tournament. Awards are given to the top three teams on each court, as well as in the Toilet Bowl division, which on each court consists of teams that lost their first two games. Each court also awards a Sportsmanship recognition to one team.
There will be Macker tournaments held in about 50 cities this year. Most of the tournaments take place from May to August, meaning there are multiple tournaments played on any given weekend in the warm-weather months. Scott can’t be at every tournament, but he has an experienced crew to assist him and work with local communities to make sure each tournament runs smoothly.
He said the Jamestown tournament is “one of the most popular sites on the tour,” with more than 500 teams participating each year. He praised the efforts of Tournament Director Victoria Trass Bardo, who each year puts together an exceptional team of volunteers and sponsors to make the Jamestown tournament a success. She also stays active and informed on Macker-related issues at the national level.
“Vicky really is like family to us,” Scott said.
Vicky, who is in the process of expanding the Jamestown tournament’ presence on Facebook, noted the local tournament’s popularity, saying that families plan their vacation around the Macker in order to be able to play in the tournament, and that some players have stated, “We enjoy this more than Christmas.”
The action takes place over three days, with the first day consisting of a Sponsors Tournament (for businesses that provide financial support to the tournament), and the regular tournament taking place on days two and three.
But you don’t have to be a basketball player to have a good time at the Macker. Thousands of spectators attend the games, and there are other activities to keep people interested, including a Slam Dunk Contest; a Dinky Dunk competition for children; and an exhibition of basketball skills by members of the Chautauqua County Special Olympics. There also are several food vendors on hand, and throughout the tournament energetic music is played over the loudspeakers.
The tournament raises money for TRC Foundation, Inc. to support individuals with disabling conditions in our community. So plan on attending the tournament the first weekend in June – you’ll have a good time, and you’ll be supporting a great cause. As Scott said, “We have a lot of fun, and we raise a lot of money for The Resource Center.”
For more information about the Jamestown Gus Macker Tournament, visit www.jamestown-gus-macker.org.
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TAGS
gus macker, 3-on-3, basketball, tournament, jamestown, ice arena, Scott McNeal, Vicky Bardo, Paul Cesana, TRC Foundation, resource center |
