 “It was very cool,” said Mitch McNeal of being inducted to the Gus Macker Hall of Fame.

  “Obviously unexpected, no idea it was coming but also in typical Macker fashion – always full of surprises.”

  Mitch, also known as the brother of Scott McNeal, who is also known as Gus Macker, was the co-founder of Gus Macker Basketball and worked for over 20 years as a co-owner and administrative officer in the company.

  The father of three children and grandfather to four, he is the president of Baruch Senior Ministries, a faith-based nonprofit organization providing senior living, including assisted living, independent living, and memory care services at facilities across Michigan.

  He remembers his time with Macker fondly.

  “It had very fun moments, and it seems like when I talk about it – I talked to my son (Brendan) about it recently – I told him about how many teams we were getting back in the day in Belding, the 5,000 teams days, and the other big tournaments we had around the country. Of course, he grew up in Macker. He’s 27 now, but he was a basketball junkie and he went with me on the road and played in a ton of Mackers. We talk about that, too. There are a lot of memories, good ones.”

  Mitch said the part he enjoyed most in his years working with Macker was seeing the impact a tournament would have on the charity nonprofit groups both in monies raised but more in the recognition and satisfaction they gained from being part of a community event.

  “There was great impact on the people involved, the players, the community, and so when I left Macker I saw myself working with a nonprofit, and this being a faith-based nonprofit was really appealing to me,” he said.

  He thinks Macker has lasted since 1974 because it has stayed true to its roots as a small-town event despite whatever number of teams are involved.

  “Macker has never been seen as a big corporate thing,” he said. “We grew up in a small town (Lowell, Mich.) and we always kept the small-town flavor in the tournaments. I think that resonates with people and helps it have impact in whatever community it is in.”

  He said he loves his current work with Baruch but misses the many people he met and formed relationships with from across the country during his Macker days.

  “I still stay in touch with a few, but not nearly enough,” he said. “I miss that. There were some amazing dedicated people out there who really cared about their communities, and we had some incredibly loyal players who loved Mackers. There were other options for those people along the way, but so many of them stayed loyal to Macker and still do.”

2018

The Brother "With Game"!