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LAS CRUCES - Issac Marmolejo and his friends have already been practicing for about three weeks. They want to maximize that keen edge they believe they'll need for this year's Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Even though he's only 12, Marmolejo already sounds like an experienced coach. He's talking up the competition while downplaying his own team's chances.
"We have to come out strong, we have to come out ready," said Marmolejo, as he and his three friends took a break from their 2-on-2 scrimmage. "The teams there are going to be good, and we know that. But if we work hard on defense, take care of the basketball, we should have as good a chance as anybody."
Marmolejo and his teammates will be among the 2,000 players expected to play in this year's Gus Macker 3-on-3 tournament, April 16 and 17, to be staged in the east parking lot of the Field of Dreams, 2501 Tashiro Road. The Las Cruces tournament has become widely popular and players from across New Mexico and nearby states.
It also means that the number of spectators who come to root for players and teams in the tournament could also amount to the thousands.
"Our tournament is the largest Gus
The tournament is a nationwide event for players of various ages and skill levels. Although every tournament is different, a typical Gus Macker event involves dozens of temporary courts set up in parking lots or closed-off public streets.
Because the tournament is so popular, the level of competitiveness has also grown.
"A big majority of the players who will be here go and play in other cities that also have Gus Mackers," said Las Crucen Michael Gay, who is helping Hoeksema organize the event.
To enhance the game experience for players, and to improve the tournament's goal of creating a family-friendly environment, Hoeksema and Gay intend to add a certified game official on every court for every game played during the two-day tournament.
Hoeksema said Pic Quik Stores, Inc., of Las Cruces, will be the title sponsor of this year's tournament.
"It's because of their generosity and sponsorship that they will help us achieve the goal to get sanctioned referees on every court," Hoeksema said. "While we've become a big tournament and are excited about that, we also believe in taking a good thing and making it better. Thanks to Pic Quik, we'll be able to take a good event and make it better."
Gay, a member of the Las Cruces Basketball Officials Association, said game officials for the Gus Macker would come from some members of the association. Many of those officials have game experience at the junior high and high school levels.
The new wrinkle is something that isn't - or hasn't been - common in Gus Macker tournaments.
"Nobody else in the state, that we're aware of, is or has plans to do this," Gay said. "I don't know of too many other Gus Macker tournaments that will have certified game officials on every single one of their courts."
Game officials are typically used for Gus Macker games played in youth divisions, especially where children younger than 16 are playing. But in divisions with older players, it has traditionally been a "call your own fouls" competition.
Entries for this year's Gus Macker tournament will continue to be accepted for a little more than the next three weeks. Hoeksema said paper entry forms are available at Pic Quik stores, and the deadline for mail-in entries, and the $132 entry fee, is March 25. Online entries, with a $140 registration fee, must be submitted by March 28.
Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452.
Quick look
•This year's tournament will be played April 16-17 at the Las Cruces Sports Complex - also known as the Field of Dreams, 2501 Tashiro Road.
•The cost to play in the tournament is $140, by March 28, for a four-person team, three starters and one substitute. The cost includes an $8 non-refundable charge for processing an application on the Internet.
•The cost for entries mailed by March 25 is $132. The entry fee and application should be sent to: Gus Macker Basketball, 107 E. Main St., Suite 3, Belding, MI 48809.
•The tournament is open to boys and girls, men and women, from 7-years-old to 50-years old and older.
•Profits from the Las Cruces tournament will be donated to the Las Cruces Boys and Girls Club.
•Gus Macker tournaments will also be played this year in Alamogordo, May 14-15; Artesia, June 11-12; Clovis, July 9-10; and Roswell, Aug. 20-21.
•This year's tournament will be capped at 500 teams.
•The Las Cruces event is the largest Gus Macker tournament played west of the Mississippi River, and is one of the 10 largest Gus Macker tournaments in the U.S., according to Las Cruces tournament organizers.
