It is not often a high school team returns five starters, but Head Coach Cory Andersen’s Troy basketball team does just that. Behind the play of six seniors, the Trojans hope to significantly improve on last season’s 7-11 record.

“Last year, I hoped for a little more growth out of the guys,” Andersen said. “My expectations are wide open, not too low, not too high. The guys have higher expectations. I will say we are ahead of how we were practicing last year.”

Led by many of the familiar faces that fueled Troy football to a 4-4 season, Andersen is less concerned about his team’s athleticism than their baseketball IQ.

“Near the end of the season we were starting Sean (Opland), Bruce (Metz), Gage (Tallmadge), Gabe (Hickman) and Luke (Haggerty),” Andersen said. “We will run with that to start, but there is a lot of competition. We will be nine-deep on the varsity level.”

The Trojans plan to run a combination of flex, power motion and triangle offenses. On the other end, the Trojans hope to play man defense with more pressure than they applied last year. When playing teams with superior size, such as Bigfork, the Trojans plan to switch to more zone.

“We are a strong team, but we need to be more than just athletic,” Andersen said. “Where we struggled last year was mostly on the mental side.”

Turnout was solid for Troy basketball this year. From of high school of 140 or so students, 28 boys came out.

Andersen mentioned the senior Haggerty as a defensive leader.

“I’m like Dennis Rodman,” Haggerty said while wearing a green headband and matching socks during a Monday practice. “I just play defense. My career high is 11 points. I’d be pretty stoked to hit 12 this year.”

Moments later Haggerty bounced toward the basket with the same frenetic pace he uses on the gridiron. A flat, left-handed jumper clanked off the back iron.

“I’d say Luke and I are the leaders on the team,” Hickman said. “It’s nice to return all the guys we have. I think our goal will be to win the district title again. We won two years in a row before last season.”

The Trojans carry impressive size, the reward for enduring last year’s growing pains with one senior.

Along with Opland, Andersen mentioned sophomore Adam Tallmadge as a potential young contributor. The wiry Tallmadge plans to see time in the post.

The Trojans began a recent practice with high-speed ball-handling drills completed with hand-specific layups. Andersen counted each missed basket.

“We have great athletes, we just need to focus on the fundamentals,” Andersen said.

Haggerty sees great potential in his team.

“I think if we can play our best basketball we can make it to the state tournament, which is always the goal,” Haggerty said. “I just got to keep practices loose. It’s my favorite thing to do.  We have fun and compete.”

If Andersen’s team can mirror that attitude, they could well be on their way to a successful season. Few teams will challenge Troy’s size and camaraderie. The same crew that was so close to a playoff birth in football could realistically achieve that goal on the hardwood this season.