Marion Gus Macker Championship 1998 - This is the team photo taken after the first of the two back-to-back Gus Macker Championships the Knueppels won in Marion, IL. Marion in 1998 was the first Gus Macker that the Flying Knueppel Brothers played in.
	Morris Illinois FKB Exhibition 2005 - In 2005, we stopped in Morris, IL to put on a 3-on-3 exibition. Here's a great picture of kids taking notes during our presentation. The exhibition is called "The Knueppel Principle: How to win 3-on-3 Championships", and goes into the five part Knueppel Principle that we have honed through our lengthy succesful career. The five parts are: (1) Take only 2-point attempts until you get to 16 points; (2) Don't allow your opponents any 2-point attempts; (3) Maximize the number of possessions you have in a game; (4) Minimize the number of possessions your opponents have in a game; and, (5) Be underestimated (so your opponents don't play hard against you until it is too late).
	Victory in Milwaukee - This was the picture on front page of the Milwaukee Journal sports section celebrating the Knueppel Brothers Top Gun Championship in 2001. The victory was over one of our biggest rival teams in Milwaukee, a team made up of Marc Mitchell, Lamon Pippen, and Craig Greene.
	Opening Ceremonies in Belding 2003 - This is a shot of the Hall of Fame members being announced at the Opening Ceremonies in Belding. The picture includes the Flying Knueppel Brothers, Preacher Lee, Miss Elizabeth's Fan Club, Larry Abbey, and Rodney Glassnor. Just after this, Klint hit the Do-or-Die shot to open the tournament.
	Gus and The Coach - A great picture of Gus and The Coach. The Coach is our dad, and is completely and wholly responsible for making us the men we are today. Gus and The Coach have a special bond that is shared by people who care deeply about others, and always have a positive outlook on life. This photo was taken in Belding in 2003 by Caitlin Knueppel.
	Macker Kids - Team picture with Gus Macker Hall-of-Fame team, Miss Elizabeth's Fan Club from San Diego, and with a team of kids from Greenville, MI (Brendan McNeal, Austin McNeal, Lannie Miller, Ryley Miller, and Zach Burris). The picture was taken in front of the Gus Macker Hall-of-Fame in Belding, MI on the first weekend in July of 2002.
	The Flying Vander Leest Brothers? - At the Wausau Macker, we ran into the Vander Leests from Sturgeon Bay, WI. In an unbelievable coincidence, the brothers names are Clay, Cole, and Connor. We have become fast friends. You never know who you will meet at a Gus Macker tournament.
	The Milwaukee Lakefront on July 3rd - The evening of the 3rd of July is when Milwaukee holds its annual Independence Day fireworks at the lakefront. Every year, the Flying Knueppel Brothers rope off a spot for family and friends to come down and enjoy the festivities. The day starts with steak and eggs on the grill at around 7:00 AM, and continues to get better from there until the fireworks cap off the evening at around 9:00 PM. When you come down to the lakefront, look for the Flying Knueppel Brothers banner and the basketball hoop just off the east edge of the Veteran's War Memorial. Everyone is welcome!
	Marion Top Men's Champions 1999 - The Flying Knueppel Brothers won their second of two back-to-back Top Men's championships in Marion, IL in 1999. Included in the team picture here is Tammy Arment, the scorekeeper from the Top Men's court. The Marion Macker was a great tournament. It's also the sight of the only 6-point play in 3-on-3 basketball history. Kole was fouled on a shot, and the offender cussed at the ref. Kole promptly stepped up and hit 3 straight 2-point free throws to complete the 6-point play.
	Sterling Top Men's Champions 2000 - The Flying Knueppel Brothers won their second of two back-to-back Top Men's championships in Sterling, IL in 2000. We usually are pretty pumped up when we win a tournament, but this tournament was special because we had to battle back through the losers bracket to win it. We won 8 straight games on Sunday starting at 8:00 am and finishing at around 5:00 pm, including defeating the winners bracket champs twice.
	Team Photo at the Miami Hoop-It-Up - We always try to get a good team shot at every tournament we play in. Nothing like playing in Miami in May in front of Pro Player Stadium. We lost a tight game in the final eight of this tournament. Close, but not quite.
	The Mitten - The LA Lakers now have The Glove in Gary Payton, and the Flying Knueppel Brothers have The Mitten in Kole Knueppel. As a team, we play very hard on defense in every game we play. However, every once in a while, Kole steps up his defense to shut down the opponents point guard. He becomes "The Mitten". This is a great picture of The Mitten in action.
	Kon in Action - There have been a lot of action shots taken of Kon in his career. We rank this as one of the best. This shot is from the championship game on the Dream Court at the Belding Macker in 2003 against Jason Otter. The Knueppels went on to win the championship in a hard fought 20-18 game. The Knueppels did not make any 1-pointers in this game, making it the only game in 3-on-3 history where a team made ten(10) 2-pointers.
	Klint vs. Rashard - Klint is the designated "big" man on the Flying Knueppel Brothers team, and spends every tournament down in the trenches battling against the opponent's post player. It is always a mismatch, but some mismatches are bigger than others. The Peoria Top Men's tournament in 2000 featured a key match up in the tournament semi-finals between Klint Knueppel and Rashard Griffith. Rashard happened to be back from his $1M Greek contract for the summer and was working out in Peoria. The photo here shows that there was only a minimal height and weight advantage at play. Unfortunately, the Flying Knueppel Brothers came up a little short (pardon the pun) in this game, and ended up finishing fourth in the tournament. In this picture, it looks as if Klint is well in the background, but if you look at where Klint and Rashard are standing on the court you will notice that they are only a couple of feet apart.
	Sweetwater Union High School Welcome - Our good friends of Miss Elizabeth's Fan Club (Macker Hall-of-Famers) invited us to San Diego to play in a tournament this past June. They picked us up at the airport and on the way back to their homes we stopped outside of Ralph Mora's (one of the MEFC team) school in National City, CA. The photo shows the wonderful welcome that was extended to the Knueppels from MEFC and Sweetwater Union High School (SUHI). Thanks for the great welcome guys!
	Klint Hits the Belding Do or Die Shot - The history of the Do or Die Shot goes all the way back to the original 3-on-3 basketball games played by the McNeals in Lowell, MI. My understanding of the story is that on the morning that the original gang would get together to play ball, there was a local who had a regularly scheduled bike ride past the driveway. The gang would have him stop every week and shoot the shot. If he made it, they played. If he missed it, they went home. The Do or Die shot was started in the McNeals' driveway over 30 years ago, and continues to this day.
	Team USA in Italy - Kon played with Steve Showalter, Kurt Woelffer, and Joe Schultz, at the World Cup 3-on-3 in Venice Italy in late June of 2003. They took second to Lithuania (also pictured), but beat Germany, Croatia, Italy, and France in the tournament.

If you have any questions about the Flying Knueppel Brothers Basketball Club, contact us at amyknueppel@att.net. Put BASKETBALL in the subject line.