I’m not a big player of the basketball. I’ve dabbled from time to time — in my driveway, at church gyms and on summer camp courts — and while I’ve always enjoyed it, I’ve never been extremely driven to do much more than shoot around a bit and play the occasional pick-up game.
My two younger brothers, on the other hand, have always loved basketball. I mean, they LOVE it. I can’t remember a time when both of them weren’t excited about playing, practicing, watching, talking or recapping a game. From emulating Spud Webb’s contest-winning dunk in diapers to flying to Hawaii for invitational tournaments, basketball has run through their veins since birth.
So, I wasn’t very surprised when nearly two years ago Mike, the older of my brothers, told me he was helping to organize a basketball tournament. It was just the sort of thing he’d do. What has surprised me, though, is how big it’s grown.
3-on-3 × 2
Anyone who knows basketball, or anyone who knows anyone who knows about basketball, probably knows about the regional Gus Macker three-on-three tournaments. These popular tournaments are held throughout the country throughout the spring and summer and are a big draw. But in 2009, there were no Gus Macker tournaments in Central NY, and anyone who wanted to play had to travel several hours west to Hornell or Buffalo or (shiver) Olean. Syracuse, which consistently sells out games in the largest college basketball arena in the country, apparently wasn’t able to draw enough support for a three-on-three tournament.
However, Mike and the other members of the Salvation Army Young Leader’s Forum thought there was plenty of interest in holding a three-on-three tournament in Syracuse. And they weren’t the only ones: The forum quickly gathered support from Syracuse’s two private higher learning institutions. Mike Hopkins, Assistant Coach of SU’s basketball team, signed on as the tournament’s honorary chair, and Le Moyne’s athletic department donated the use of their facilities to host the event. The tournament was scheduled for June 2010.
Then, out of the blue, Gus Macker announced a new tournament location in Cicero, NY, just a few miles north of Syracuse, in early August 2010. Mike and the Young Leader’s Forum weren’t swayed, though, and they pressed on with their plans for their own tournament in June. They believed the excitement surrounding the Gus Macker tournament would only help their own event.
And perhaps it did.
Pivot, Shoot … Swish!
Last year, the Turn-Around Jumpers tournament had 67 teams and raised more than $20,000 for Salvation Army services in the Syracuse area.1 Contrast that with the $18,000 raised by Gus Macker for The CanTeen — despite having more than 100 teams.2 This comparison isn’t to say one is better than the other, but simply to show how well Mike and the Young Leader’s Forum did in promoting and executing their event. If you can bring in more money than a nationally recognized tournament in your inaugural year, you must be doing something right.
It wasn’t a beginner’s fluke, either. This year, 117 teams played in the Turn-Around Jumpers tournament — a 75% increase, perhaps proving that there’s an even bigger appetite in Central New York than first imagined.
Yet, despite the large increase in teams, the event seemed to run smoothly. Or at least as smoothly as one could expect. I’ll not forget that one of the first things Mike said to me yesterday, just a few hours into the tournament, was, “I need to find a scorekeeper, two refs and then go settle a dispute.” But he said it with a smile, and that’s what counts.
Back to Basics
The highlight for me, though, wasn’t how many teams or how few hitches there were. It was getting to see my brothers back in their element. In addition to being a key organizer of the event, Mike played with a team of guys from his employer, CXtec. My other brother Brian played with some friends on a team they dubbed “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly;” I was unable to distinguish which moniker belonged to which player.
I missed most of Saturday’s games, having been at my older daughter’s soccer game, but I got the girls out of the house early enough Sunday morning to see Mike and his CXtec team win four games in a row, eventually beating out “Good, Bad and Ugly” for a spot in the championship game. Unfortunately, though, CXtec lost their final game to a team with a seven-foot-tall player.
Talking to Mike later that night, he sounded exhausted. After all the post-tournament cleanup, he went to the local Y, where he played in his weekly Sunday evening recreational league game. He had called to tell me that, surprisingly enough, he wasn’t going to stay up to watch game six of the NBA finals, but that he was recording it on his DVR if I wanted to come over and watch it with him the next evening. I didn’t have the heart to say I was already watching it, and boy was it a roller coaster ride.
Not that Mike would have cared that I was watching it, because for him it’s always about enjoying the game. That’s why, I believe, he was so passionate about Turn-Around Jumpers, and I have no doubt that his passion has been a key element of the tournament’s success. I mean, the only other option is that he created a tournament that organized games for more than 400 contestants, coordinated dozens of volunteers, including referees, scorekeepers, contest judges and concession workers, and generated tens of thousands of dollars to help local families in need — just so he could play a few basketball games.
Then again, I wouldn’t put it past him….
Footnotes
1. Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins will serve as honorary chairman for Salvation Army’s Turn-Around Jumpers 3-on-3 tournament
2. Friends of The CanTeen raises $18,000 at Gus Macker basketball tournament (500 players / 4 players per team = 120 teams)
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