GREENVILLE — Michael Bashore takes over a hungry Greenville boys basketball team this year that’s out to prove its worth in a tough Greater Western Ohio Conference.

“I think for me personally it’s exciting because this is my hometown. I think anytime you get a chance to come back and coach where you grew up at, that’s something that’s going to be special,” Bashore said.

This season will be Bashore’s 10th consecutive year coaching basketball. He previously spent four years in Greenville as the girls freshman coach and girls junior varsity coach.

The Wave’s new coach is focusing on making the program a permanent foundation, as Greenville has gone through several coaching changes in prior years.

“The kids have been fantastic. We’ve only been at it a little over (three) weeks, and they’re eager to learn anything. They’re excited about it, and they just play hard everyday,” Bashore said. “That’s the first thing we ask for, and that’s something we expect every single day. We always say that if you’re working hard we can teach you how to do anything else, and so far we’ve gotten that.”

Zach Comer, Kendall Hemer and Adam Hickerson return as likely starters, rounded out with a roster that’s seen its fair share of court time.

But Bashore runs a new program in which each player proves himself every day.

“We have a rule the first day of practice that every spot is open. Nothing that you did last year is going to matter now because it’s a new year. You earn your spot in practice,” Bashore said. “We don’t like to set anything in stone because we don’t want to deter from the competition.”

And with the Wave’s roster, Bashore sees potential going into the new season.

“We’ve got a lot of fast, athletic kids,” he said. “We want to push the ball more. We run a lot of secondary break off of a missed shot. After every missed shot we want to get out and push the ball and beat the other team up and down the floor.”

Bashore intends to change the way Greenville has played basketball in the past with a faster play-style and a reactive defense.

“I know we’ve got a lot more movement than what they’re used to in the past, and they’re screening a lot more. It’s more of a structured format than what they’re used to. But the kids have responded well to that. I think they’re excited about having stuff like that to run.”

The Wave defense also is being overhauled.

“We’re trying to transition from them playing a zone to man-to-man. I’m a huge man-to-man coach, so that’s been a slow process but it’s getting better every day,” Bashore said.

But the changes will take time, and a new program will require entirely new abilities.

“Anytime you put in a new system, you have to work on a new set of skills. They’re used to running one way, but the offense that we’re implementing is a different skill set that you have to work on,” Bashore said. “I run a lot more pick and roll, those are different things you have to get used to.”

The Wave faces their first challenge on Friday against Miamisburg High School.