With the annual Morris Boys Shootout set to tip off Tuesday at Morris Community High School, coaches, players, and volunteers are hard at work to prepare for the 32-team tournament that so often has featured some of the state’s best players and teams. This year is no exception with teams set to attend from as far north and south as North Chicago and Belleville, and as far east and west as Kankakee and Galesburg.

The summer is always an interesting time for a basketball team, with athletes often forced to split their efforts between many endeavors, but for Morris Redskins head coach Joe Blumberg, the goal is simply to get better despite the fact that injuries and other focuses have left him with less than a full roster.

“This will be our first shootout of the year. We’ve only played home games on Tuesdays and Thursdays so far, and I’m still trying to gauge what exactly to expect from this summer,” Blumberg said.