Twenty courts will be filled with over 800 basketball players, with courts extending five blocks on Carpenter Avenue beginning just past Ludington Street and ending at C Street, organizers said.

Over 120 teams of players ages 4 to 12 will be eligible to play on the Dream Court, located next to Ludington Street by Corner Auto. This special court is a dream of the originator of Gus Macker, Scott McNeal, who started Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournaments in 1974 on his parent’s driveway in Lowell, Michigan.

In 1987 the tournament took to the road because of a tremendous demand from communities outside of Michigan. The Gus Macker All-World Tour has expanded to over 75 cities with over 200,000 players.

Seven-foot former NBA star Chris Kaman, also known as The Caveman, will be playing in the top men’s division. Kaman was a star rookie player with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2003-04 and went on to play with other NBA teams through 13 seasons as a respected professional basketball legend.

Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman reacts after getting called for a foul against the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

On Friday, July 16, from 4 to 7 p.m., registration will be held in the Central School cafeteria at 217 West Hughitt St.. A second day of registration will take place from 7 a .m. to noon on Saturday, July 17.

Besides registration being held in the cafeteria on Saturday, the cafeteria will also be a location for volunteer check-in, information and trophy pickup on Sunday.

“Our Gus Macker event team consisting of 20 community leaders who are passionate about Gus Macker basketball, children and early literacy programs are thrilled with the amazing community support. Over 75 local businesses and organizations have sponsored the 2021 Gus Macker Tournament in Iron Mountain. See you July 17 and 18 for a much needed outdoor athletic and festival event,” said event coordinator Barb Reisner.