The mindset of the Charles Henderson faithful has switched from watching the Trojans throw and pound the pigskin to watching the Trojans press the round ball up the court.

With the football season finished, it is officially basketball season in Troy.

Charles Henderson head boys’ basketball coach Carl Hollis is working his team hard to get ready for the season opener Nov. 24.

“We are working hard, but we are not quite where we need to be right now,” Hollis said.

For Hollis, intensity is a big factor in the level of success the Trojans have on the court this season.

“We have a chance of doing pretty good in the season if we play with intensity,” Hollis said. “And we will have to get that intensity in practice by doing drills to make them more intense.”

In his 14 years at the helm of the Trojans Hollis has always demanded that his players do one thing above all else.

“We learn to win with class and we learn to lose with class,” Hollis said. “We are representing Charles Henderson High School out there. We are from Troy, Alabama and we are representing Troy wherever we go. We want our guys to always have class.”

Following a losing season, which is a rarity in Hollis’ tenure at CHHS, Hollis said he wants to make sure the Trojans have a good grasp of the basics of the game of basketball.

“We want to be a better team fundamentally,” he said. “We have to learn to do the fundamental things in basketball instead of the AND1 dribbling. We have to do the basic fundamental things in the game because that is what wins games for you in basketball.”

Hollis said the Trojans would need to rely on the fundamentals because they are not loaded with raw talent. He said the team is full of good kids, but not a lot of jump-out-of-the-gym kind of guys.

The Trojans return four players who started games last year in Gestavious Barnes, Daris Wilson, Steve Baker and Jabari Brown.

That returning starter experience will come into play when the Trojans hit the meat of their schedule. Hollis said Eufaula and Rehobeth would both have the majority of their starters back and Jeff Davis, Bullock County and Ashford will all be tough matchups for Troy.

“We have some big school games and we do not play an easy schedule,” Hollis said. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready, but we will get it done.”

The Trojans open the season on the road in the Enterprise Tournament Nov. 24.