D'Marcus Simonds remembers March 8, 2014 well. The date and, moreover, the outcome sticks with him. Simonds was part of Buford's team that lost to Morgan County for Georgia's AAA state championship game.

Morgan County didn't pull any punches. It was a convincing victory and the Wolves could just sit back and watch it happen.

Simonds, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Georgia's talented 2016 class, was part of the loss. That feeling of defeat was fuel in the tank all spring and summer. For Simonds, the fuel was the extra boost for his success on the travel circuit.

"Losing is the worst possible feeling there is. It is all wins from here on out. I hate losing," Simonds said on Saturday morning at the HoopSeen.com Fall League. "That (loss to Morgan County) was with me all year."

Simonds has carved out a space in the class of 2016 as one of the top scoring guards in his class nationally. His recruitment reflects such a thought. Simonds said he has offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Florida, UConn, Texas and Texas A&M to date.

He said he already been to Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State unofficially. A pair of SEC trips for the fall are on his to-do list.

"I know I'm going to go to Florida and Mississippi State for a football game," Simonds said.

What's he looking for in his future school?

"Academics are important," Simonds said. "The other day when I was at (Georgia) Tech, they told me that one out of every six people that graduate from there is a millionaire. That stuck with me. I want to see how every school's departments are looking. I want to have a plan for after basketball."

The plan for the here and the now is getting Buford back to Macon. It starts with him. Simonds will play a new role this year for the Wolves - locker room leader. He said he realizes that is ready for the responsibility.

"We have a really young team. I'm pretty much one of the oldest guys. They pretty much look up to me. They know I went through all of that," Simonds said. "Last year we had (Rakim Lubin). Two years ago we had AJ Davis. So, this year it is going to be me. I'm going to lead the best way I possibly know.

"I think last year we started region play I realized I couldn't be a kid anymore. Everyone was looking at me. They were looking at me and do the same thing I did. I thought to myself that maybe I do need to get on board. What are our leaders doing? I needed to do that."

Buford, and Simonds, will be back at it on Saturday at the HoopSeen.com Fall League at Suwanee Sports Academy.