Joy of the Game prepares for season finale

It's a good thing that Joy of the Game upgraded its facilities two years ago.

Now, the full service basketball organization, which offers instruction and traveling teams to players of all ages around northern Illinois, operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility in Deerfield.

"We're in a building that used to house an old Fitness Warehouse," said Mike Weinstein, who founded Joy of the Game 15 years ago. "With all the games and tournaments we host, we'll have somewhere around 500,000 people a year come through here."

There certainly will be plenty of people hanging out there on Sunday.

Joy of the Game will be wrapping up its boys high school fall league with a daylong tournament played on four courts that begins at 8 a.m. and will likely run through 8 p.m.

Admission to the tournament is free.

Most of the top players from Lake County, as well as some of the best players from Chicago and other towns in the metro area, will be on hand.

So will dozens of Division III, NAIA and junior college coaches, not to mention representatives from various scouting services as well.

"We've got a lot of great players playing in this league," said Weinstein, who estimates that between 350 and 400 players are in the high school league. "These are the better players from the northern part of the state. Actually, we've even got some players from Rockford, Peoria and Kenosha (Wis.), too.

"This league is a great way for guys to get ready for their high school seasons and a great way to get some exposure with college coaches."

Weinstein says that in the last five years, 100 Joy of the Game players have gone on to play in college, at various levels.

Joy of the Game's Deerfield facility is located at 158 S. Waukegan Road.

For more information, contact Joy of the Game at: (847) 498-6646 or visit www.joyofthegame.com.