When you think about high school basketball in Georgia, the Gainesville Lady Red Elephants come to mind. Four state championship and nine region title banners hang from the rafters at the Gainesville High School Gymnasium - it’s a storied program.
After four straight double-digit win seasons, the Lady Red Elephants struggled in the win column, finishing last season with an 8-18 record, but kept their playoff streak intact.
After last season, Brenda Hill-Gillmore resigned, leaving the door open to one of the top coaching jobs in the state.
Gainesville found its guy at White County High School. Alan Griffin, White County athletic director at the time, was ready to get back on the sidelines. Griffin stepped away from coaching to enter the administrative side of the game in 2016, but he missed coaching too much. Griffin last coached the boys team at Pacelli Catholic School in Columbus. He led Pacelli to the 2016 Class A Private state quarterfinals and 2015 Sweet 16. At White County, Griffin was named the 2017-18 Region 7-4A Athletic Director of the Year.
This season, he’s created a fire at Gainesville - a good one, though. Led by Tija Blackwell, Tia Shelton and a host of underclassmen, the Lady Red Elephants have won their last four out of five games and are 5-3.
We caught up with Griffin to see how he’s settled into his new job, the early-season success of his team, his coaching staff and what’s ahead for the Lady Red Elephants.
Coach, first off, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today… this is your first year at Gainesville, how’s it been so far?
“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I’ve loved every single minute of it. For me, it was the want to get back to coaching. I had a good experience in White County, a lot of great people, but the administration side of things was just not what I was passionate about. I’m really excited to get back to coaching and working with kids on a daily basis. Every single day has just been a blast.
Gainesville’s program has traditionally been a force in this area. Where do you see this program right now?
“I see the program in a lot of different phases - everything being positive. We have some talent here right now that is top in the area. I think Tija Blackwell and Tia Shelton are as good of a point guard-shooting guard combination as you’ll see. The junior class right now (is small) - I only have one junior, but the freshmen and sophomore grades are really healthy. I gotta super sophomore group - three of them start - which is a really impressive class of sophomores. We have really good freshman numbers, and a lot of our attention this year has been at the middle school level. We have a really good middle school coach, Jimmy Jackson, who’s grown the number at the middle school program. This year we started a fourth and fifth-grade elite team, which is really something that’s exciting. We’re trying to create a network of kids coming from the third grade through the senior year, just being a Lady Red Elephant. So we’ve started that in the lower grades this year, which is really exciting.
You started the season off with two losses against two tough opponents in Grayson and KIPP Atlanta. Since then, you’ve won the last four out of five games, are the players buying into your message?
“Absolutely, they’re playing fast and with a lot of energy … and that’s what we’ve been preaching to them since Day 1. We’re going to have fun, we’re going to play fast, and we’re going to like each other and get along. That’s what they’ve been doing. So, absolutely, they’ve been buying in. It’s been a good little run right now and to open up against a team like Grayson really kind of lets you know where you are and where you can go. That game was kind of misleading at times because we tied it up at one point and went back and forth with them. They kind of busted it open at the end. But, it was a great early-season test for us.
Basketball season, to me, is like two different seasons. You have before Christmas then you have after Christmas when you’re really getting hot and heavy into the region play. So, where do you see your team coming in after Christmas?
Well, you hit the nail on the head. It really is a tale of two seasons … and around these parts, it’s three because Lanierland is a beast of its own. So, I’m really intrigued to see how the girls and even my self, handle such a … the best tournament in Georgia as far as Christmas tournaments concerned. How we can go through the ups and downs of tournament play. How we can take the challenge of three games … let’s go see how good you are. You know, you either gotta rebound from Lanierland or push through the joy of winning Lanierland into your region play … the heart of the season. I hate to say it, I watched Bull Durham last night … worked on my cliches … we’re going to take it day-by-day and see where we are. Where the scoreboard turns off at the end of the season. Every day we are trying to work as hard as we can and have as much fun as we can and enjoy being around each other as much as we can and good things will happen from that.
And, finally, you know Katie B. (Davis) is part of your staff, so I have to ask you, what influence has the former Gainesville basketball all-star had on the players?
“Can’t describe it. First of all, she’s an ultimate example of what a role model should be. She’s on this wall out here as part of a state championship team. She went to play collegiate basketball. So she’s an example of what every girl can do from this program … go on and play at the next level. But, more than that, she’s a fantastic human being who knows a lot about basketball. So just having a high-quality person around me that I can count on every day is by far a blessing. I’ll tell you this, nobody does this job alone, I’m blessed to have a really good staff.
