Gus Macker Three-on-Three Basketball Tournament is taking over Benton Harbor this weekend

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – The Gus Macker Three-on-three Basketball Tournament is happening this weekend in Benton Harbor. For some, it might just be a place for the community to come together and play basketball, but to the organizers, it means so much more.

Scott McNeal, also known to others as Gus Macker, is the founder of the Gus Macker Three-on-three Basketball Tournament. He first got the idea after playing basketball in his parents' driveway with some of the neighborhood's kids. Now, it’s a countrywide known basketball tournament determined to help raise funds for local community groups.

“And I had a choice: leave my job and travel around the country doing this or stay and teach. And decided to chase a dream and do this from town to town. So now I run around the country raising money for causes in different towns,” McNeal said.

Helping raise funds for different organizations is how the Harbor Impact Foundation has been able to give local kids full-ride scholarships to student athletes. By doing so, they have been able to give them a chance for a better life, and for the Founder of Harbor Impact Foundation, Rodney Alexander JR. this means more to him.

“I just want to give back what I do have, so basically give kids a chance to go. It’s definitely humbling, seeing kids go to the next level is definitely satisfying me, gives me a sense of purpose,” Alexander Jr. said.

  By putting on these events, Alexander Jr. can give back to a community that once gave so much to him, helping the future generation succeed and giving them life-changing opportunities.

  ABC57’s Brian Conybeare, a Benton Harbor Native and the Board President of the Harbor Impact Foundation, is bringing together local businesses for community engagement.

"We've had so many sponsors...local community partners. It's like the whole community is coming together to help us make this happen... and we are very grateful for all that support.” Conybeare said. “All of the money that is raised here will help us train more local kids and get them college scholarships, that’s what this is really all about.”

Throughout the last five years, the Harbor Impact Foundation has been able to give 35 student-athletes full-ride scholarships.

The tournament continues throughout the weekend, with games starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. For more information, visit the Gus Macker website.