The Trojans will play their first official game of the season Tuesday, Dec. 1, at home at 7:30 p.m.

The boys come into their 2015-16 season off of a runner-up finish in the conference last year. Coach Alan Jenkins said that he hopes to raise expectations from last year, but doesn’t want to focus on the past.

The team will be returning key players such as seniors Ryan Hawkins, Brendan Holmes and Kyle Nelson. Another key returner for the season will be junior Garrett Franken. Hawkins was an All-State pick last year and Franken was a 2nd-team All-Conference selection. Jenkins also said that he has a “talented group of sophomores” that he thinks will be assets to the team. Scott Leonard, Grant Podhajsky, Dillon Sonntag, Ben Renaud, and Jaxson Eden are a part of this class. Junior Jake Olson will also be a key player.

With a new season comes new talent and a loss in past leadership. Joey Walker, Tristan Benn and Nick Podhajsky were seniors last season who led the team. A key component to this season will be to see who will take the shots that they took.

The seniors this year will take on that leadership role on the team. Jenkins said, “I think they will do a fine job.” The freshman class also has a transition from middle school basketball to high school. Jenkins said this is a “hardworking group.” “Hopefully the transition won’t be that difficult for them,” Jenkins said.

With every sports team comes the anticipation of who the starters will be. For this team, the five starters aren’t necessarily the five best players. Jenkins said he will start the five that he thinks will provide the team with the best start. This team values the use of a sixth and seventh man to provide success.

Mentally tough teams are hard to beat and that is what Jenkins wants his players to be. “It’s easy to be good when everything is going your way but you need mental toughness,” Jenkins said. The team also has to compete every night. Jenkins said, “Playing hard is an expectation.” The boys need to strive to be great and focus on the game. The players should know how they need to conduct themselves on and off the court. Jenkins said his players need to be “hungry and ready” for the season.

In the conference, Jenkins hopes that the Trojans will be a key team in the Hawkeye 10. The team is returning two of the top scorers in the conference this season. There are teams in the conference that will challenge the Trojans, however. Harlan, Glenwood, Lewis Central, and Kuemper will be tough opponents. The Trojans will face these conference teams and whoever comes out on top will be the conference champion.  “There’s probably a five-team race,” Jenkins said.