Press Releases
News Release
DATE: August 17, 2010
CONTACT: Vanessa Wade
PHONE: (419) 695-8010
For Immediate Release
Tyson Slam Dunk winner at SAFY’s Gus Macker Tournament
Receives $1,000 prize donated by UNOH
(Lima, OHIO) -- Greg Tyson Jr. didn’t’ rely on props or special effects to win the
Slam Dunk Contest at Lima’s first Gus Macker tournament. His talent and ability to jump
netted the three-time All-American National Long Jump Champion and native of Lima the $1,000
prize and bragging rights among area basketball greats.
The between-the-legs tomahawk dunk was a move Tyson hadn’t flaunted in four years, but the
delivery was flawless. "I had it tucked away for that moment exactly," he says. "I was a little
nervous because I had only had one dunk and if I missed it, it was over. It was worth throwing
though, I’m glad it went down."
The contest was part of the Gus Macker tournament held July 31 on the Ohio State Lima/Rhodes
State College campus. The tournament was hosted by SAFY (Specialized Alternatives for Families
and Youth), a leading foster care and family- and child-based service provider headquartered in
Delphos. The Slam Dunk Contest was sponsored by the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH).
Gus Macker is the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament drawing hundreds of players of
all ages and skill levels to cities across the nation. Last year the Macker hosted more than 90,000
players and nearly 1.7 million spectators in 55 cities. Proceeds from the Lima tournament benefit
SAFY’s Safe Harbor, the area’s only youth runaway and homeless shelter located on Jameson Avenue
and Team Lima Basketball.
Tyson and teammates Quincey Simpson and Rodney Towels of Team Lima bested Team The Best to C
for Free to claim the Lima Macker title. Team Lima is coached by Waren Pughsley and Greg Williamson.
Greg Tyson Jr., center, was the winner of the 2010 Gus Macker Lima Tournament Slam Dunk Contest.
The tournament was hosted by SAFY (Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth), and the contest
was sponsored by the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). Tyson received $1,000 in prize money and
bragging rights among the area’s basketball greats. Pictured are (l to r): Warren Pughsley, Tournament
Co-Director and Coach of Team Lima; Greg Williamson, Tournament Co-Director and Coach of Team Lima; Tyson;
Chris Adams, UNOH Athletic Director and Boys Basketball Coach; and Rhonda Henderson-Laidlaw,
SAFY Vice President of Community Based Programs and Director of Safe Harbor.
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About SAFY
For over 25 years, children who have experienced the worse in life have found hope through
SAFY. More than the traditional foster care agency, SAFY is a private not-for-profit organization
focusing on treatment, intervention, adoption and the placement of children whose intensive
needs cannot be managed through traditional foster care. Today, SAFY programs and services
go beyond therapeutic foster care and extend to thousands of families across the country.
For more information or to learn about becoming a foster parent, contact SAFY at 800-532-7239
or visit our website at www.safy.org