The season is a long way from being over, but Winder-Barrow High School boys basketball coach Eli Connell will certainly take a 6-1 start.
“I’m not someone who looks too far ahead,” Connell said Sunday night after he finished breaking down the win from Friday night against Monroe Area. “In the preseason, I didn’t look at our schedule and think we could be 4-1 or 5-1. When the break gets here we will look at the region standings and see where we are.”
In the Bulldoggs’ first few games of the season, the team had a tendency to fall behind. Connell knew the team had to rid itself of that habit.
“We gradually stopped that and began to play better out of the gate,” the coach said. “It was something we focused on. Lately, we have been fortunate to get ahead.”
In Friday’s win against Monroe Area, Winder-Barrow never trailed.
Foul trouble has also been a talking point for the Bulldoggs.
Connell said a key to his team’s success is to prevent standout Jodd Maxey from being in foul trouble.
“As a team we also have to stay out of foul trouble,” the coach said. “We don’t need to let opponents score with the clock stopped. We have been working with Jodd on cutting down on his fouls. Every player can defend the basket by taking a charge or blocking attempts. Jodd is going to be a shot blocker. He has the responsibility to do that without picking up fouls.”
Assistant coach Sammy Hale has been working with Maxey on making blocks without fouling and not swinging his arms.
Connell said it is also key to control the rebounds and not knock the basketball into the stands on blocks.
“Jodd or any other player picking up fouls can also be contributed to us playing poor defense on the perimeter,” Connell said.
The team’s 6-1 record going into this week’s slate of games has been somewhat surprising Connell said because the roster was filled with some question marks.
Bo Aldridge was injured most of last year and two contributors — Alonzo Nelson and Trent Demeritte — were on the junior varsity a season ago and Henry Maxey did not play at all.
“Four of our top seven players had limited or no experience,” Connell said. “You never know how they are going to react in games. I felt we could be good because Shun (Thurmond), Jodd and D.J. (Butler) were All-Region type players. When you have players of that caliber, then you have a chance for success.”
The Bulldoggs are also 3-1 in Region 8-AAAA crossover games with the subregion schedule ahead.
“We’ll keep working and keep trying to improve in the areas we need to improve in,” Connell said. “To be 6-1 is a good way to start, but the season is a long way from being over. We want to have many more wins before all is said and done.”
