Red Elephants boys basketball off to best start since '05 <b>(VIDEO)</b>

GAINESVILLE -- For many things in life, it's about comfort.<br /> <br /> Basketball teams are no different. The current edition of the Gainesville boys basketball team is a prime example.<br /> <br /> The Red Elephants are in their second season now under coach Benjie Wood and some things just take getting used to.<br /> <br /> "My style was different from (former coach Todd) Cottrell and any time there is change it takes everyone some time to get used to how things are going to be done," Wood said. "I had to get to know them and they me. We expected that.<br /> <br /> <b>(NOTE: To watch video highlights of the Red Elephants' win over North Hall, click "play" in the box to the right.)</b><br /> <br /> "We're in year two now and I think we're getting more comfortable with each other and how things will be done. Not to say things are perfect, but we're progressing a lot since last year."<br /> <br /> Indeed they are. The Red Elephants (8-0, 3-0 Region 8-AAAAA) are one of just two teams left unbeaten in Hall County -- Johnson is 9-0 -- and the only unbeaten team in Region 8-AAAAA following Tuesday night's 64-56 win over North Hall at home. It is Gainesville's best start since the 2005-06 team opened 10-0 featuring Jamarco Warren and Kenji Cobb. Yet they will get perhaps their biggest test of the season so far traveling to Buford on Friday in a non-region showdown.<br /> <br /> If you want to get to the root of their success this year, you have to go all the way back to the middle of last season.<br /> <br /> In early January the Red Elephants were sitting at 8-8 overall and in the bottom portion of Region 8-AAAAA, staring at the very real possibility of not making the playoffs. But a win over arch-rival East Hall on the road sparked them to an 8-2 finish over the regular season, including a 6-2 mark in Region 8-AAAAA. It was good enough to get them in the playoffs, which ended abruptly in a first round loss to Miller Grove.<br /> <br /> "The guys started to see what we were wanting them to do and we had a strong finish to the year," Wood said. "I think we got the most out of that group we probably could. That gave us some momentum coming into this year."<br /> <br /> The summer would prove to be the turning point. Gainesville finished second in the Gulf Coast Community Camp in Panama City, Fla., and it has carried over to the beginning of the regular season.<br /> <br /> Plus, add in key transfer additions D'Marcus Simonds and Tyler Scott, both juniors, from Buford, and freshmen newcomers Bailey Minor and K.J. Buffen, and the Red Elephants appear poised to building the first few blocks of a lasting foundation of talent.<br /> <br /> They already had senior Luke Maddox, junior Sam Carpenter, and the return of senior Jermaine Fleming, who went to Gainesville Middle School before leaving the state.<br /> <br /> "We had a really good summer coming off the finish last year, and I felt like we had a chance to be pretty good," Wood said. "We have some height and ball-handlers and shooters and they play good defense as a whole. We still have some areas that need improving. We're nowhere near perfect or where I would like us to be. It's still a work-in-progress."<br /> <br /> Typically, Wood likes to play an aggressive full-court trapping style of defense. But a new set of personnel sometimes dictates a little tweaking.<br /> <br /> "I like to press to people and create opportunities but this group is a better half-court defensive team. You have to play to the strengths you have and do what is best for the team so we are constantly adapting to what we have," Wood said. "We'll still press, though.<br /> <br /> The most noticeable difference is on the offensive end. Simonds (23 ppg) leads the Red Elephants in scoring and is capable of taking over a game at any moment. Maddox (8.0 ppg, 4.0 apg), Fleming (8.0 ppg), Minor (7.0 ppg), Carpenter (6.0 ppg), Buffen (6.0 ppg), and Scott (4.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) give teams plenty of other options to worry about.<br /> <br /> "As for the offense, I think we're much more explosive this year, mainly because of D'Marcus. But we know teams will try to shut him down and we have several guys that can score," Wood said. "Clarke Central put a box-and-one on D'Marcus and he didn't take a shot until right before the half. But he was dishing the ball around and doing other things. Sam and Luke and Jermaine picked up the slack. After that, they had to guard everyone else and then D'Marcus was able to start getting some shots.<br /> <br /> "The other guys have done a good job so far. You need more than one guy on the court who can score and these guys are stepping up when they get their chance."<br /> <br /> A hot start doesn't always translate into a strong finish. But Wood said he thinks this group is still learning and growing and can get better as the season moves along.<br /> <br /> "I'm not surprised with our start because I felt they had shown progress since the end of last year. But you never expect it, either," he said. "There's still a long way to go. If we continue to play hard and improve, I think we have a chance to win the region.<br /> <br /> "But there are some good teams that can easily knock us off so we can't be satisfied where we are right now. We can't get comfortable."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/12/283068