Baseball has “Pitch Hit & Run” and football has “Punt, Pass & Kick,” but what about basketball? In 2021, a few Wisconsin hoops fanatics set out to give basketball players their own skills-based competition, and now 2s Frees 3s has expanded to several other states and boasts a $10,000 prize package.
“People ask me what I do, and it’s just like ‘Wait? What do you do?’ It’s obviously not a normal job, but I can talk basketball and work around basketball. It’s a great thing,” says Adam Frame, director of operations for 2s Frees 3s.
Frame joined the team full time in August 2024, right as 2s Frees 3s was finishing up its third season. Founders Steve Novak and Brian Lammi met Frame at basketball camps and tournaments in Wisconsin. A long-time coach, Frame offered up his high school gymnasium as one of the first host gyms for 2s Frees 3s.
The same opportunity exists for facilities in Wisconsin and elsewhere to get involved and gain some revenue. Says Frame, “2s Frees 3s is very much plug-and-play.”
competition includes 20 regional events, four sectional events and one final championship. During the competition, each athlete has two minutes to make as many shots as possible from designated spots on the floor in the 2-point, 3-point and free-throw zones. If competitors make at least 11 of their shots at a regional competition, they qualify to move on to sectionals. The organization hosts about half of its regional competitions at YMCAs and the other half at school gymnasiums. “Five dollars per competitor goes back to the host facility. That could be anywhere from a couple hundred bucks all the way up to $600. Not life-changing money, but money you can use to buy new basketballs or put toward new jerseys.”
What originally began as a Wisconsin-based competition grew in 2024 to include neighboring states Minnesota and Iowa, thanks to 2s Frees 3s long-time sponsor, West Bend Insurance. Frame explains that the company “is not only in Wisconsin, but they are also in Minnesota and Iowa. They wanted to put on competitions in those states, and not only for able-bodied people, but they wanted to have us put on adaptive competitions, as well.”
From there, 2s Frees 3s connected with the Courage Kenny Classic, a wheelchair basketball tournament in Minnesota. “It was nothing more than me sending out as many cold emails and cold phone calls as possible, explaining to them who we are, what we do and why they should host us,” Frame says.
Crew Miskel
While 2s Frees 3s expanded into new territory to the west during the 2024 season, back in Wisconsin the Grand Champions were preparing to compete in the final round of competition.
“We have five age brackets, and we have five champions who move on to the finals at Marquette University,” Frame says. “Those five compete against each other. In 2024, the youngest was nine-year-old Crew [Miskel]. Then there was a 15-year-old girl. The same champion from two years ago – a teacher – and one of the champions was a 68-year-old guy. And they are all shooting from the same spots on the floor,” says Frame.
Frame was as surprised as anyone to see the youngest competitor win the championship. “Crew came out here, and he could shoot. Like wow!” he says, adding Miskel took home $10,000, a golden basketball trophy and a WWE-style championship belt.
Regional competitions for Wisconsin’s 2025 season began in March, and the next championship is scheduled for August. Then, competitions will kick off in Minnesota and Iowa.
“The million-dollar question,” Frame says, “is how do we scale this up to the national level?”
On top of hoping to bring 2s Frees 3s to more states and athletes across the U.S., Frame has one more hope for the future of the organization. “I’m trying to get more girls involved in the competition, because right now it is dominated by the guys. It can be intimidating if there are 100 people registered, and only eight of them are girls.”
As the popularity of women’s basketball reaches an all-time high, including more girls in 2s Frees 3s should be a slam dunk.
