It would be easy to make excuses following a 5-20 season, but that not what Charles Henderson head coach Carl Hollis is about.

Laying the groundwork for the season with a hard-nosed, yet sometimes comedic speech to his players about responsibility, punctuality and life, Hollis and the Trojans took the court in the team’s final preparation before their season and home opener against Barbour County tonight.

The Trojans difficult 2010-11 campaign can be attributed mostly to youth. The team lost only one player from last year’s team full of sophomores. Now juniors, Hollis is looking for this group of players turn their ability into victories.

“This team has a lot of promise and ability,” Hollis said. “They have been working with a positive attitude but we still have a lot we need to get done.”

Of the 14 on the 2011-12 roster, 13 are returning players from a year ago and all saw extended playing time.

With a season of action under their belts as underclassmen, the majority of the Trojans will be a year older and a year better but Hollis, who is in his 18th season as the Charles Henderson head coach, said he want to expand on what his players learned last year.

“We’re going to do some of the old stuff,” he said about his offensive and defensive schemes. “But we have a lot of new stuff we are going to mix in too.”

Hollis said he wants this team to be stingy on defense and put pressure on their opponents by running a quick and fluid offense.

“We want to create steals,” Hollis said. “Then push the ball up the court.”

Hollis feels one key to success for this team will be patience.

“Being selective with our shots,” he said. “We have to be selective and have patience and poise.”

Charles Henderson will be looking to knock off a perennial power in Barbour County tonight. The Jaguars finished with a 30-5 record last season while falling to Tanner in the 2A finals.

“They are going to be tough,” Hollis said. “But they will be a good test for us going into the season.”

Barbour County won state titles in 2001 as well as 2009.

The Jaguars (1-0) knocked off Pike County in their season opener 65-27 and topped the Trojans in both meetings between the teams a year ago.

Charles Henderson and Barbour County junior varsity teams will kick off the night’s action at Wagoner Hall 4:30pm. The varsity girls and boys will follow.