“It’s going to take some time,” he said.

However, time might not be on the Trojans’ side. It never is in the ultra-competitive landscape of California men’s junior college hoops, where the competition is fierce and the players supremely more talented compared to the high school level. That’s what Piergrossi is trying to get his freshman-dominated squad to understand.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who did well in high school, but it’s a whole new ballgame now,” Piergrossi said. “We’re trying to teach them how to compete at this level and they’re not there yet.”

That’s the bad news. The good news is Skyline has some talent and doesn’t start its season until a week from Friday in the San Jose City tournament. The Trojans scrimmage San Francisco State Saturday, which should provide them a valuable lesson in every facet of the game.

Skyline is coming off its best season since Piergrossi took over the program six years ago. The Trojans finished third in the powerhouse Coast Conference North Division, made the playoffs for the first time in the coach’s tenure and steamrolled West Valley before giving one of the top-ranked teams in the state, Fresno City, a tussle for the better part of 30 minutes.

But that was an experienced, sophomore-laden team, all of whom are gone. The only returning players who saw significant minutes last season include point guard Daniel Lindsey and forward Malik Williams. Piergrossi will be counting on those two, along with Logan Shoffner, to provide on-court leadership to his inexperienced team. Shoffner is a Riordan High product who played at Menlo College last year.

Skyline also returns a familiar face in forward Tim Washington, who played on the team three years ago. Piergrossi said most of the players he targeted on the recruiting front landed at the San Bruno school.

The list includes a number of prominent San Mateo County prep standouts: Hillsdale’s Art Fodor, Terra Nova’s Simon Enciso and El Camino’s Anthony Smith and Jorsen Baysac. Enciso and Fodor will provide an immediate impact; Enciso can penetrate and shoot it from the outside and Fodor is a 6-foot-6 forward/center who has a nice medium-range jump shot to go along with some solid post moves.

Skyline has the ability to shoot with Enciso, Baysac and Mitchell Edwards, and they have some decent size and height with Washington, Williams, Fodor and Brennan Bull, a physical 6-7, 230-pound freshman out of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Skyline has a nice mixture of players: A couple of shooters to go along with some guys who can penetrate and bang inside. While the Trojans don’t have a true standout talent, they have 10 players who are pretty equal in ability. Again, there are positives and drawbacks in that regard. A deep, balanced team allows a coach to substitute liberally and try to wear the opposition down with a frenetic pace of play.

But in basketball, more so than any other team sport, you need a truly dominant player or two to carry it to championship contention. All of which means for the Trojans to repeat their finish from last season, they’ll have to do it by playing cohesively and being mentally tough, two traits the 2008-09 squad developed as the season went along.

“Last year, we had our best team, and this year we have our deepest team,” Piergrossi said. “We’ll go at least 10 and possibly 12 deep. It’s a different situation. There are concerns of if we’re going to be tough and physical enough to compete at this level, but I’ve never had 12 guys who I feel comfortable with putting on the floor (at any given time).”

Ultimately, the Trojans’ season depends on how fast their players develop, both physically and mentally. Their margin for error is slim, so Piergrossi is hoping his players learn and develop — and fast.

“It comes down to if they’re competitive enough to help the team in other ways if their strength is taken away,” Piergrossi said. “It’s tough to (consistently) win with mostly freshmen. It’s going to be a learning experience for many of them, and some of it is just being tougher and finding ways to get it done. This is a great time of year to learn about the character and make-up of this team, and to see what they’re going to do when it really counts.”

Emanuel Lee can be reached by e-mail: emanuel@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109.