Gus Macker basketball tournament will return to Saginaw in 2013 – The Saginaw News

View full sizeThe Saginaw NewsGus Macker backboards will return to Saginaw in 2013SAGINAW – The last time Ziggy Kozicki played in the Saginaw Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, he won the Toilet Bowl Trophy.

He also had his original hip.

Kozicki, 60, expects to break in his new hip when he helps bring back the Macker to downtown Saginaw in 2013, he announced Tuesday.

“We have a group of people committed to bring it back, including (Gus Macker founder) Scott McNeal, so it is definitely going to happen,” Kozicki said. “There are lot of things to do before then, a lot of logistics, sponsors, dates and things to line up to make it happen, but it’s going to happen.”

Kozicki is part of PAC-V, or People Against Crime and Violence, and hopes to use the Macker as a cornerstone of a larger event called Saginaw’s Got Soul, a multi-day festival of basketball, volleyball, blues concerts, soul food and art shows in downtown Saginaw.

“We’re putting up a big tent so a lot of people can get involved … we would love to have as many non-profits, churches, schools, organizations and charities involved as possible,” Kozicki said. “This could be a conduit for organizations to become stakeholders in this and share in the proceeds.”

McNeal was happy to hear about interest in Saginaw, which held the Macker from 1990 to 2000.

View full sizeZiggy Kozicki“Next year will be the 40th year of the Macker, so it would be a great part of the celebration to bring it back to one of the great places we’ve held it,” McNeal said. “I’ve been wanting to come back forever to the tournament that Wilbur Hoffman made happen.”

Hoffman, a member of PRIDE, was instrumental in bringing the Macker to Saginaw in 1990. Hoffman, who owned Schaefer Hat Store in Saginaw, died in 1998.

“Ziggy’s a fellow CMU grad, so that’s great,” McNeal said. “He started talking about it and the more he talked about it, the more it started to get a Wilbur feel to it,” McNeal said. “I really liked it.”

Kozicki lives in Midland, but works at Mid-Michigan Neuropsychology at Towne Center in Saginaw. He also teaches classes at Central Michigan University and Ferris State University.

McNeal will come to Saginaw on Friday, March 9 to talk to people interested in helping bring the Macker to Saginaw. He will meet people at the Underground Railroad office, beginning at 9 a.m.

“We want this to be a way to energize the community and bring something exciting to Saginaw,” Kozicki said. “We would like to provide something for our youth, give our local charities a way to raise money and re-introduce people to Saginaw friendliness.

“There’s a lot of potential. It can do a lot of great things, but we have a lot of work to do in the next year. We don’t want this to be just a one-year event. We want it to be sustainable, something people can expect to be part of every year.”

Kozicki and McNeal have no dates picked out for the 2013 season. Kozicki wants to make sure the Saginaw Has Soul event does not conflict with any other events already planned in Saginaw. McNeal also has to make sure the Saginaw event doesn’t conflict with other Macker tournaments.

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Kozicki at zigpsych@sbcglobal.net.

“I played when it was here and our team won a Toilet Bowl trophy,” Kozicki said. “We did OK, won some games and had a lot of fun.

“I have every intention of going back out there in 2013 and playing again, even if I don’t have my old hip.”