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Hard work is key for
inexperienced Wave
French likes the attitudes of his kids
By George Starks
GREENVILLE - Not being hired until the 11th hour, Greenville basketball
coach Dane French has got his kids hopping in preparation for the
upcoming season.
With the addition of the new look gymnasium, French says there is a
change in the way kids are approaching things in Wave Land.
“The kids are really busting their tails in practice,” said French.
“There is a freshness here and you will always have that with a new
coach. We have a new gym and the kids are happy to have a nice gym to
play in.”
With a new gym, comes a new outlook and a new way of seeing things.
“I think the kids are excited about the season,” French said. “They are
excited about the direction the program is heading.”
With a team that has little to no varsity experience, the Wave is work
in progress.
“We have one player coming back from last year with any significant
playing time at varsity and that’s Adam Hickerson,” said French. “Adam
is a junior and will be a wing/post player for the team. He’s a hard
worker and we look for him to be a contributor on offense. I have a
couple of sophomores that will be coming up on varsity and that’s Ryan
Drew and Zach Comer. These two guys are really good athletes and I
expect them to contribute in big ways also. We have a big mix of
seniors and juniors that will be in the mix for playing time.”
When most coaches believes that their team’s strength is found at one
position or another, French sees the strength of his team from another
angle.
“I think the strength of this team is the unity and the willingness to
work hard,” French said. “We’ve had a limited amount of practice so the
evaluation period is still going on. But from what I’ve seen the kids
are wanting to make a change in Greenville basketball. I think the kids
have realized we are trying to build a program and that this is a long
term commitment on my part and my coaching staff. They realize that our
long term goals are more important than the short term goals. We have
to build a foundation and it starts here and now. We have to do the
small goals to build that foundation but we are more focused on the
long tier goals.”
It may be his first year as the head hoops coach at Greenville but
French is no stranger to the coaching game and the success it brings,
being a part of a successful coaching staff at Franklin Monroe. With
starting from scratch being tough, French has been in this position
before.
“It‘s tough to get your program started as a first year coach in a new
school,” admitted French. “The kids are eager to learn though. We have
put in a weight program here and that started with open gyms. These
kids are learning a whole new offensive and defensive system and a new
lingo as well. It’s tough but as long as we focus on the fundamentals
and be a sound team fundamentally.”
If the Wave is going to be able to compete every game, it starts on one
end of the floor and works it way up from there.
“The success of this team starts on defense,” French said. “If we go
out and play good, solid, fundamental defense, then we will be in games
right to the end. If we don’t play good defense, we get our doors blown
off. We have to take care of the basketball on offense and work the
ball to get good, quality looks. If we don’t protect the ball, we don’t
get a shot at all because of the turnovers.”
As a coach, French wants to bring a passion for the game to Greenville.
French and the Wave will get a good look at the team overall when
Greenville hosts Versailles on opening night, Dec. 2.
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