That is a wrap on the 2024 CMU Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Festival! Throughout Saturday and Sunday, almost 200 teams took over the historic Finch Fieldhouse at CMU in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and the CMU Gus Macker crew, along with the Gus Macker National Staff, was prepped and ready to make their weekend one they would never forget.
Friday, the staff and crew spent the day making the Fieldhouse “Macker ready” by tapping off sections of the parking lots for hoops, putting together registration tables, preparing the hospitality room and creating the famous Dream Court!
Saturday, everything was in full swing! Due the inclement weather, rain delayed Opening Ceremonies by a half hour, but this did not dappen the spirits of the CMU Macker crew! After CMU President, Dr. Robert O. Davies, made the best Do-or-Die shot in CMU Macker history, the crew showed off the Opening Ceremonies dance they had been practicing all semester. Check out the video below to see the real deal!
After Opening Ceremonies, Court Captains went to their courts, and games commenced all the way until 6pm! Then, the moment of truth occurred…who would win the 50/50 raffle? The Cannon (Shannon Sabo) drew a ticket and read the number and Mickey (Alyssa Militello) exclaimed “that’s my mom!” Congratulations to Mrs. Militello for her huge win (that hopefully Alyssa shares in the riches of :).
On Championship Sunday, the rain came back again, this time with enough force to speed the tournament along by shortening number of points needed to win, and cancelling the rest of the Dream Court. But this did not hurt the CMU Macker crew, for they turned to the Macker National Staff and began helping tear down and packing up all ways possible. By the time 4pm rolled around, everything was pretty much taken care of!
The final portion of the weekend took place at Hunter’s Ale House, where the crew, their volunteers and loved ones and members of the Macker National staff all came to reminisce on what an incredible job the smallest, but mightiest crew, accomplished. Moomad (Madison Moore) and Jacuzzi (Jacey Hutchins) put together an amazing slideshow and paper plate awards for all of the crew, with the most fitting award being given to T.O. called “Waterworks” for his passionate crying, but who held it together (mostly) throughout the party.
To the Court Captains, K-KO (Kayla Kohn), Megabytes (Megan Withers), Auntie Em (Evelyn Matthias), Bullet (Liv Brya), A-Pap (Emma Apap), Boujee (Bria Bourgeois), Dora (Evie Dunnigan), Mickey (Alyssa Militello), and Cherry (Kiersten Judge). Thank you for taking care of your courts, your players and for ensuring that everyone played hard and had fun. We couldn’t have done this without you! To the 18 RPL 333 alumni from 2014-2023 who came back to work as additional Court Captains, thank you for your dedication to CMU, Gus Macker, and RPL.
To Stink (Kaelyn Foltz) for the incredible Opening Ceremonies dance and for manning the hospitality room and Jacuzzi (Jacey Hutchins) for planning and executing the Launch and Volunteer Parties - thank you for creating incredible spaces for the community and for us!
To Woodchuck (Alexis Wood) for gathering and managing all of the volunteers and specialty contests throughout the weekend - thank you for making sure the crew had all of the people necessary to run an effective tournament and for showing us what it means to be an amazing volunteer recruiter!
To The Cannon (Shannon Sabo) for orchestrating the 50/50 raffle and managing sponsor relations - Thank you for taking on one of the most tedious jobs and raising so much for the winner, CMU Gus Macker, and the United Way of Gratiot and Isabella Counties.
To Earhart (Amelia Klosowski) for running facilities and operations - thank you for keeping the venue spotless and always having the best attitude even in the dirtiest of jobs.
To Gelato (Emma Zuidema) for being the voice of the CMU Gus Macker weekend (along with Dan) - thank you for representing the crew and Gus Macker so well on and off the air.
To the teaching assistants, Kicks (Roy Workman), Moomad (Madison Moore), Tweener (Mackenzie Miller) and The Kid (Jenna Steeb) - thank you for supporting the crew in all possible ways. They could not have done what they did without you!
To T.O. and the Gus Macker National Staff - thank you for this incredible opportunity. To run this tournament was a privilege that none of the crew will never forget and a testament to what it means to truly be a “wingman.”
Thank you to all for following along on the 2024 CMU Gus Macker journey! One final time…#talktomegus!
Signing off,
Queso (Kaitlin Otteman)
Gusette and Blogger
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