Lawrence and Free State boys basketball teams have been hard at work over the summer in regional basketball tournaments as they lay the groundwork for the upcoming basketball season.

Both the Firebirds and Lions have spent the last two weekends competing against high school teams at Pittsburg State and in Columbia, Mo. Both teams took advantage of the opportunity to compete and grow together.

“I thought the kids played really well,” Lawrence coach Nick Wood said. “They, I think, started to figure out what they need to do in order to be successful going into next season.”

For Lawrence, they’ve been a team without a lot of size for a couple of years now, which provides some challenges for the defense. Wood said the team understands that in order to be successful, the Lions will need to play bigger than their size by being relentless and getting rebounds.

“We feel really good about how we can play offensively, but the reality is they’re going to have to be elite defensively in order to have sustained success night in and night out,” Wood said. “We’re going to be able to rebound as a team and be so strong on that defensive end, but they are seeing that kind of stuff, and it’s been really cool to see.”

Free State had a better record in the Pittsburg State camp than the Midwest Showcase, but what was important about both weekends was the work the Firebirds put in and the areas of growth against good teams from around the region.

“It was all a really good competition,” Free State coach Dwayne Paul said. “I like where we’re going. We’re doing a lot of things differently offensively, defensively schematically.”

Paul said the Firebirds have another strong freshman class that have made an immediate impact already.

Both Lawrence and Free State had young squads in the 2025-26 season, and that will be the case once again this upcoming year. The difference is that while young, both teams will have sophomores and juniors with a lot of Sunflower League experience after having played so much during the last two seasons.

“All of our returners are better,” Paul said. “They’re bigger, they’re stronger, faster, more experienced. We’re going to have a team again this year full of sophomores and juniors, and I think only one senior. So we’re going to be young again, but I’m excited to see how they grow.”

The two squads have had good attendance throughout summer sessions, even with both teams being comprised of many multisport athletes that spend their summers training for football and basketball. Free State, for example, had several members of the team come back from a football camp early Friday morning before going with the basketball team to the Midwest Showcase in Missouri later that day.

Lawrence has had similar experiences, as players finish football practices in the morning before heading to the basketball court. Still, there has been a steady number of participants, and Wood said it is a testament to the leadership of the team.

“There’s no doubt that they are tired, they’re exhausted,” Wood said. “But at the same time they’re putting their work that’s going to pay off all year for them both at basketball and the other sports they play.”

The summer has also been a time for the team to get together and bond. While the two local teams will have a promising number of returners, it’s still beneficial to get everyone together for trips and camps.

It’s important for the teams to take advantage of the time they have now. Once the summer moratorium hits, coaches can’t coach their teams until the season starts in November. These summer weeks are the time to set the foundation, and both Free State and Lawrence have been hard at work doing so.

“We got a lot of guys coming back, so it helps most young kids really step into their role,” Paul said. “This is so important because right after halfway through July, we won’t have access to hands on with other guys here until November… so I’ve been really pleased with the turnout that we’ve had and the work that we put in.”