TCPalm Winter All-Area: Meet the area's top stars in boys basketball from the 2023-24 season

The Winter All-Area award season has finally concluded.

Throughout the week, TCPalm has acknowledged the Treasure Coast’s top athletes and coaches from soccer, wrestling, girls weightlifting and girls basketball. Today, we wrap up the season by honoring the finest from boys basketball.

Both South Fork and Fort Pierce Central ended long droughts to getting a district title into the trophy case. It’s no surprise that those two teams are represented in our superlative awards. Elsewhere, Port St. Lucie and Treasure Coast had gifted scorers and leaders recognized by taking spots on our All-Area First Team.

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Without further ado, here are this season’s Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, All-Area teams and players who received honorable mention. Selections were made by the TCPalm sports staff based on coach nominations, total stats, average stats, accolades and overall team success.

POY

Joseph Gayle, Fort Pierce Central

FPC head coach Christopher Maxon said Gayle entered the year as the team’s third-best player, but things changed by season’s end. “He has led us throughout the whole season, Maxon said. “We relied on him so much and he didn't let us down.” The 6-foot-4 wing was dynamite throughout the entire 2023-24 campaign, averaging 20.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He shot 51% from the floor and 38% from 3-point territory.

But in a competitive race for POY, it was Gayle’s play to ignite an unexpected postseason run that put him over the top. The junior averaged 22.7 points and 9.0 rebounds during the District 7-7A tournament to lead the fifth-seeded Cobras to three upset road victories and to their first district title since 2011.

COY

Brian Flynn, South Fork

If, and often when, they jumped out in the front, the Bulldogs rarely coughed up a lead thanks to a relentless defense and a smart, patient and delayed offense. Flynn created and preached that style of play, and in turn, South Fork hoisted its first district title since 2015. The Bulldogs finished with a 21-6 record and were the last area team standing in the state playoffs, as they lasted until the regional semifinals.

First Team

Makhari Chambliss, Port St. Lucie

Year: Senior

Highlights: Chambliss was one-half of the top-scoring duo in the area. The senior guard averaged 19.2 points per game while knocking down a team-high 60 3-pointers, but his scoring didn’t just come from volume. Chambliss shot 49% from the field, 36% from 3-point territory and 82% from the free-throw line. Add in 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and you’ll have a key contributor to a program that reeled off 20 wins.

Loghan Downie, South Fork

Year: Senior

Highlights: Downie sealed a spot not simply by being the best player on the area’s best team, but by solidifying himself as one of the best in the area. The senior small forward averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game. He scored in double figures in 22 of 27 games, including a 35-point performance in a win against Fort Pierce Westwood. Measured at 6-7, Downie, among a tall frontcourt, was the anchor to the Bulldogs’ suffocating defense. The Keiser commit pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game.

Joseph Gayle, Fort Pierce Central

Year: Junior

Highlights: Gayle becomes the Cobras’ first Player of the Year in boys basketball since Darvion Blackshear won the award for the 2017-18 season.

Ryan Rodriguez, Port St. Lucie

Year: Senior

Highlights: The 6-3 southpaw guard ended his prep career as one of the best and most productive players to ever play for the Jaguars. Rodriguez put up an area-best 25.3 points per game on 50% shooting from the field to go with 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals. He scored in double figures in every game this season, including a 41-point effort in a win against Tradition Prep. Possibly Rodriguez’s best attribute was his ability to get to the free-throw line, as he had 191 makes from the charity stripe. That was good for 27th in the nation according to MaxPreps.

Tyson Wilson, Treasure Coast

Year: Senior

Highlights: There wasn’t much this point guard didn’t do for the Titans in 2023-24. If you needed scoring, he had you covered, pouring in 18.7 points per game. If you need someone to clean the glass, no problem. Tyson averaged an eye-popping 10.4 rebounds per contest. Defense? Well, snatching 3.3 steals and swatting 1.2 blocks per game. Mix in 4.4 assists, and a case can be made that no player was more valuable to his team than Wilson. He led Treasure Coast in the five aforementioned statistical categories.

Second Team

Nick Chang, South Fork

Damon Folds, Morningside Academy

Christian Maxon, Fort Pierce Central

Corey Wilkerson, Okeechobee

Cordell Wilkins, Jensen Beach

Third Team

Brandon Brazell, Martin County

Feliz Buroz, St. Lucie West Centennial

Bek Fleurissaint, Treasure Coast

Christopher Maxon, Fort Pierce Central

Jaylen Shelly, Vero Beach

Honorable Mention

Justin Beall, South Fork

Jordan Crutchfield, Fort Pierce Westwood

Jason Curry Jr., Jensen Beach

Collin Jefferson, John Carroll Catholic

J.D. Long, Pine School

Jayden Pert, Vero Beach

Pat Silas, John Carroll Catholic

Andrew Simpson, Sebastian River

Ari Smith, Martin County

Jayson Smith, St. Lucie West Centennial

Imarion Stanberry, South Fork

Jshaun Williams, Lincoln Park Academy

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: 2023-24 TCPalm Winter All-Area: Who was the Boys Basketball Player of the Year?