Shirts and skins: Family hosts old-school basketball tourney in Northbrook backyard

Shirts against skins.

The old basketball standby will be back in vogue Sept. 3 in a kids tournament that sounds about as pure as it gets - on a court in a neighbor's backyard.

With hot dogs and mustard - and custard.

It's the third time Craig Blumenfeld has hosted a 3-on-3 tournament with his wife, Deb, at their place in Northbrook.

They sent their oldest daughter, Brooke, through Glenbrook North; she's now a freshman at Northern Illinois University on a basketball scholarship. Another daughter, Addison, plays soccer and basketball and is a sophomore at Glenbrook North. Their brother, Ethan, a three-sport athlete, is eligible to play in the tournament, being in sixth grade. That's the cutoff.

The 3-on-3 is an offshoot of Craig Blumenfeld's basketball background, and originated when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down organized sports activities and people were left to their own devices.

In fact, it's called the third COVID-19 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.

"I love doing this stuff. This is what I'm passionate about," said Blumenfeld, a youth sports coach when not working as an actuary.

"It's just a blast in the backyard."

The tournament is open to players in sixth-grade or younger. So far it's been all boys, but he'd welcome girls teams, too. Don't worry; they'd be shirts.

As of Aug. 18 nine teams had signed up, including teams from Deerfield, Glencoe and Glenview. Blumenfeld is hoping for at least 10 teams this year.

Teams are of three or four players. Their parents show up and watch.

There's no entry fee. Instead, people can bring nonperishable food items for donation, and monetary donations Blumenfeld plans to give to the Highland Park Community Foundation.

Deadline for signing up is Aug. 26; anyone interested can email Blumenfeld at craig.blumenfeld@yahoo.com or call him at (773) 320-6736 or.

If he has time he'll tell you that when he was a student at Buffalo Grove in the late 1980s a man named Archie More hosted an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament he'd play in.

After Blumenfeld graduated from the University of Michigan, he and college buddy Chris Kipley would play in the Gus Macker and the Shoot the Bull 3-on-3 tournaments downtown. Craig said they did pretty well.

"Three-on-three basketball tournaments sort of defined who I was as a late teenager, early adult. And fast-forward, with these kids it was just something I wanted to do," he said.

Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, on the Blumenfelds' 28-by-28 foot sports court they'll start playing games up to 13 points - unless tied, then the winner has to win by 2.

It's a double-elimination tournament, bracketed with seeds pulled right out of a hat. Baskets outside the 3-point arc are 2 points, inside they're 1 point. It's make it, take it. There are foul-outs, but no free throws.

A champion is crowned by about 2 p.m., though last year the winning players also had an early soccer game, so they pushed the title game back an hour.

There's no coaching.

"I think in this day and age kids are so overstructured, always being told what to do," Blumenfeld said. "It's sort of fun to have them do their own thing."

He gets volunteers and gear to operate a basic scoreboard, a monitor showing the bracket, someone to play music, and tries to get volunteers for referees.

The tournament even has sponsors. Last year Josh's Hot Dogs and Culver's of Northbrook came out to provide lunch. They'll be back this year with freshly grilled hot dogs, chips and custard around noon.

In 2021 they went through about 90 hot dogs and 90 custards, Blumenfeld said.

One day Blumenfeld hopes to offer a 3-on-3 father's tournament, another potential pandemic - of Achilles tendon, ankle and hamstring injuries.

His main goal is to bring people together, get a little sweat and fun going, and make some memories.

"I'd like to keep doing it until people don't want to do it anymore or the kids outgrow my court," Blumenfeld said.

"I don't know how much longer this will go on, but I hope these kids will remember this like I remembered my basketball tournaments."