What happened to Kokomo’s Gus Macker?

KPRD’s Roe says lack of interest killed 2022 event, but lack of promotion evident

Once upon a time, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament was a big deal in Kokomo. Downtown street transformed into half courts filled with hoopsters who traveled from all across the Midwest to compete.

This year, there weren’t enough teams signed up to make the event successful. The event, originally scheduled to take place next weekend, was cancelled by the local organizers on Aug. 19. According to Torrey Roe, Kokomo Parks Superintendent and local Gus Macker organizer, the interest just wasn’t there.

The Gus Macker tournament won’t take place in downtown this year. (Photo: Kokomo Gus Macker Facebook page)

“It was a lack of teams,” said Roe, explaining the reason for the cancellation. “We had 65 teams signed up. When there are 16 different competitive divisions in the tournament, that’s not enough. There were some age divisions that could have had a tournament, but the teams were spread out. We had more than 90 teams signed up last year.”