Thus gave rise to the Moneyball Pro-Am Summer Basketball League in 2004, which is named after the Lansing-based sportswear company Ferguson started in 2002.

Now in its 12th year and second year taking place at the Aim High venue in Dimondale, Ferguson’s Moneyball Pro-Am is as successful as ever, as hundreds of fans show up every night. This year’s event takes place every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 6:30 p.m. The league began on June 30 and concludes August 6 with playoffs. In addition to this, just like it’s always been, the league is free to the public, with an optional donation.

The format of the league contains six teams consisting of college players from around the state, former Lansing-area high school players, professional players from overseas, and nearly every member of the current MSU basketball team, including the occasional past MSU player, such as Draymond Green or Kelvin Torbert.

“It’s great for the Michigan State guys to come out, especially the Lansing guys in particular when you talk about Bryn Forbes, you talk about Denzel Valentine, guys that’s from Lansing and this is a Lansing event,” Ferguson said.

Senior MSU forward Matt Costello has been playing in the Moneyball Pro-Am for four years now, ever since the summer before his freshman year at MSU. Costello said one of the things he likes about the Moneyball Pro-Am is that it allows him to work on certain parts of his game, without having the MSU coaching staff immediately critiquing his every move, and also just because it’s a great time.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Costello said. “Everybody knows each other and you get to play the game you’ve loved since you were a little kid ... honestly, it’s one of my favorite parts of the summer.”

MSU sophomore guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. also shares in the sentiments that the Moneyball Pro-Am is a great opportunity to play some competitive basketball in the summer.

Nairn is now playing through his second year in the league and said one of his favorite parts of playing in the 2014 pro-am was being able to play with former MSU basketball player and now NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green. Green has yet to make an appearance at the league in 2015.

But beyond being just an opportunity for Lansing-area basketball players to take part in a competitive league in the summer months, the Moneyball Pro-Am also offers an opportunity for fans to see some of their favorite college basketball players up close in action.

Take Dan and Jeanne Smith for example. The two met as students at MSU in the 1970s and are now married and reside in the nearby town of Mason, Mich.

“We’ve been kind of interested in seeing the (Moneyball Pro-Am),” Dan Smith said. “I read about it in the paper ... we attend a lot of (sporting events at MSU). It’s something different to come out and see a little bit of different basketball with some of the players from other schools.”

And for Ferguson, putting on a show for the Lansing community is exactly what he has in mind. 

“I really had the community in mind,” Ferguson said. “You see a lot of kids running around here getting a chance to see some of their favorite former high school and now college players and professional players so I think it’s a great atmosphere for the families, for the community and for friends alike.”

“It’s a Lansing thing,” Ferguson went on to say. “I gotta represent the ‘L.’ It’s my hometown and this is one of my ways of giving back.”