When a new head coach comes in, it's all about change and adapting to a new style of play.

For Western Michigan junior Titus Wright, he's now had to make those changes three times.

The 6-foot, 8-inch center from Thomasville, Ga., was recruited by Steve Hawkins. Wright played for one season under Hawkins before his contract wasn't renewed. He then played two seasons under Clayton Bates before Dwayne Stephens took over prior to this season.

"I wouldn't say it was a tough transition, but it definitely was a challenge," Wright said. "I had built habits with the previous coaches and sometimes those habits have to change over time.

"I feel like the most challenging part is developing habits Coach Stephens wants me to have. This year, it's really about focusing on running and rebounding. I want to get on the offensive boards every chance I get."

That's something Wright, who has started all 13 games, has done in the past, though. Two seasons ago, he ranked 10th in the Mid-American Conference, averaging 2.1 offensive boards per game. He's at 1.8 this season, which is tied for 10th in the league.

"This year, it's about running and rebounding," Wright said. "We want to get on the offensive boards every chance we get.

"That's coming from previous years where they didn't really emphasize it that much. For me, it's about crashing the boards and building habits Coach Stephens and the assistant coaches want us to build."

A recent home game against Siena Heights showed how Wright and his teammates want to wipe the glass clean as many times as possible.

The junior played a little over 16 minutes in the 61-41 victory, grabbing two offensive and two defensive boards to go along with scoring nine points. Defensively, he easily led Western Michigan by drawing six fouls.

During his time on the court, Wright was involved in 28 offensive possessions, and the only three times he wasn't trying to get an offensive rebound was because the Broncos scored on fast break layups. In those three, Wright was either the first or second trailer down the court.

Wright isn't the only one working on the offensive glass for the Broncos. Markeese Hastings is averaging 2.9 offensive boards per game, good for fourth in the MAC. Against Siena Heights, Hastings and JaVaughn Hannah each had five offensive rebounds.

"I feel like the biggest thing we wanted to do this year was to learn, to come into practice every day and in every game, learn," Wright said. "The guys are coming in and doing that."

All the learning, the rebounding, the defensive work and many other things started on day one of practice.

"That first day of practice was intense and fast," Wright said with a big grin. "We've been building on that, playing fast, and making sure everything translates to the game."

Wright's work ethic this season hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Titus is a guy that I've seen the most improvement from thus far," the head coach said. "For me, the improvement off the court has been better than on the court, and I totally believe that the two reflect on one another.

"He's taken a jump academically, being a little more responsible and taking care of his business and I'm proud of him for that. Basketball-wise, he's one of the leaders on our team from the standpoint he has a very big voice and he's saying the right things and holding people accountable.

"And he's holding himself accountable, which is good."

The game before Siena Heights, which WMU lost to Iowa State, 73-57, showed how Wright has improved this season…and he did it without scoring a point.

"I said that was the best game he has played and he didn't score," Stephens said. "He rebounded, he played defense, he was physical and he stayed out of foul trouble, but the best thing he did was he followed the scouting report.

"Iowa State takes a lot of charges and it put Titus in a position where he had to make some plays and he made great decisions, he took care of the ball and it was a huge step forward for him."

Added Wright: "We went in with a plan and I tried to execute it the best I could. Some nights, they will need me in the post to roll to the rim, but that wasn't the game plan this time."

As the MAC season approaches, Stephens is looking for the Broncos (4-9 overall) to have better starts in games so they aren't always playing from behind.

For example, that was born out against Iowa State. With 7:37 left in the first half, Iowa State held a 27-8 lead. For the rest of the game, Western Michigan outscored the Cyclones, 49-46.

"Our offense has been good in spurts and we have to get more consistent," Stephens said. "We dig ourselves a hole, then we have to claw back and I commend our guys for their fight and never giving up, but as a coach, you don't want to be down like that."

The Broncos won't have an easy start to the MAC season. They start off on the road against two of the top-ranked teams in the conference, Kent State on Jan. 3 and Toledo on Jan. 6.

"We have tested ourselves these past 13 games and we will see how that translates to conference play," Wright said.

While adapting to new styles of play for three different head coaches could have been tough, it was nothing compared to adapting to Michigan weather. Wright's hometown of Thomasville is in the southern part of Georgia, just a few miles from the Georgia-Florida border.

"When I was 12 years old, we might have had a few flurries, but nothing like this," he said, again with a big smile.

In his four years at Western Michigan, he's managed to adapt to new coaches – and the weather – very nicely.