Thirty seconds into a meaningless preseason jamboree at Concord’s Community College, Pelham boys basketball head coach Todd Kress had seen enough. He called a timeout.

“Did you even think about taking the charge?” he heatedly said to one of his starters, who had just allowed a Bishop Guertin ballhandler to drive for an uncontested layup.

Later, with three minutes remaining in the 20-minute game, a Pelham bench player stood his ground, drew a charge from an out-of-control BG foe and returned the ball to the Pythons. Kress enthusiastically clapped his hands for the player.

Those two exchanges – in an abbreviated contest – explain Kress’ mindset entering the 2008-09 Class I season: he has zero patience for soft play, yet unlimited support for the selfless variety.

“The last couple of years, I felt we really weren’t mentally tough,” said Kress. “We didn’t come in ready to take (the postseason tournament).”

The coach, who led the team to the state title in 2006, watched the Pythons fall to muscle-bound Hanover in the tourney quarterfinals the last two years. He said his team in 2008-09 is long on talent, if not long of limb.

“Big, strong, physical teams like Hanover have given us trouble,” he said. “But we’re going to work harder than those teams and dictate the tempo. We want to get back to our style of basketball – fast-paced, non-stop basketball. If we keep that pace for 32 minutes, we’re going to be fine.”

Setting the tone is senior star Justin Hojlo, one of the best backcourtmen in New Hampshire.

In years past, the question always seemed to be, “Can Hojlo make his teammates better?” This year, Kress requires the rest of the team to take responsibility.

“They have to help him. You want to watch him do his thing, and that’s understandable. But it’s not going to be productive for him and the team,” said Kress, who knows Hojlo’s keen court vision is a dangerous weapon only if his mates move without the ball.

Grant Hebert, a senior, and Stephen Spirou, a sophomore, are two of Hojlo’s main targets, yet Kress said the whole 11-man roster needs to be prepared to help.

“At least through (our first) eight guys, we’re not going to lose anything,” said the mentor. “We’ve got a lot of kids that love to get out there and run.”

Sophomore Mike Lombard, senior EJ Baker, and juniors Conor McColgan, Sean Sweeney and Josh Boissonnault must be key contributors, while senior Dave Wesson and juniors Corey Couillard and Joe DeAngelo push their teammates and try to push their way into more playing time.

The idea, Kress said, is for Pelham and its fresh legs to outlast any huffing, puffing opponent in the fourth quarter, particularly in March.