FORT WHITE — There’s no mystery behind Jahlaya Wilson’s nickname.
The 6-foot-1 Indians forward already towers over most of her teammates and opponents on the court, and her long limbs make for great coverage.
But ‘Tree’ Wilson is more than a moniker. It also serves to describe her style of play — unyielding and ever-growing — even if it simply originated from her physique in seventh grade.
“My coach, Derrick (Roberson), we were just at practice one day, and then he was just like, ‘you’re tall like a tree,’” Wilson said. “‘So we’re gonna call you Tree.’ It just stuck all the way through high school.”
That tree has sprouted over the last four years, with Wilson blossoming into the focal point of Fort White’s offense. The development and resulting production earned Wilson this year’s LCR Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors.
“It makes me feel really happy,” Wilson said of the recognition. “It was exciting to know and just feel that my hard work actually paid off this season.
“We had a lot of ups and downs this season, and honestly, to get clarity here, it just makes me feel like I accomplished something.”
Wilson is certainly deserving of the award. The junior nearly averaged a double-double with 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, both tops in the region. Nearly half her rebounds came on the offensive glass, often leading to second-chance points at the rim.
It’s a quality that FWHS coach Bregay Harris said separated Wilson from her peers. It also led Harris to change up her offense from a season ago after she learned of Wilson’s impending transfer from Columbia.
Going from a free-form, guard-heavy rotation to making space in the paint for Wilson was a season-long endeavor for the Indians on their way to a second consecutive appearance in the Region 3-R championship.
“We’re used to getting up and down the floor quite a bit,” Harris said. “We slowed the game down just a little bit to be patient, get in the post a lot, take a couple more passes just to take that look down in the post.”
However, it’s also a move that Harris said allowed Wilson to play up to her potential.
“It’s a well-deserved award for her,” Harris said. “She’s such a special kid with such a special talent. She added so much value to our program…She’s just one of a kind.”
Wilson said after transferring in from CHS, it wasn’t hard to fit in among her former middle school teammates.
“The chemistry was already there,” she said. “We just really had to put it together and execute…It was just like putting the puzzle pieces together, and that really made us do what we had to do.”
While the offense as a whole took some time to adjust on the court, it didn’t exactly show on the scoreboard. The Indians rolled to eight consecutive wins to begin the season, with Wilson averaging 16.7 points per game in seven of those contests.
But Wilson also began to develop on the defensive side of the ball as well. She put up four blocks to go with 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 53-48 win over Bishop Snyder. It was Wilson’s first of eight double-doubles.
She nearly topped that two weeks later, finishing one block shy of a triple-double in a 57-54 win over The Rock. She wound up averaging 3.5 blocks per game while coming away with nearly one full steal per outing.
Wilson said her defensive game is the most fun aspect on which she can focus, even if she sometimes gets into foul trouble as a result.
“It’s my favorite part of the game,” Wilson said. “They tell me not to block shots because I get too excited when I try.”
After a 70-22 win over Trenton pushed the Indians to 8-0 on the year, they then entered the toughest stretch of the regular season. They stumbled in a low-scoring 33-28 loss to Bradford before dropping four more games, all by double digits.
Wilson struggled throughout that stretch, putting up double-digit points only once while hitting a high of just eight boards. The quality of opponents — which included eventual Class Rural champion Williston as well as powerhouses Hilliard and Newberry — didn’t help matters as the Indians slowly fell to a 9-8 record. The drop-off concluded with a seven-point performance from Wilson in a 59-49 loss to Gainesville, her third instance of scoring seven or fewer in a four-game stretch.
Wilson said the weight of having the offense focus more on post play did eventually weigh on her.
“My ninth-grade year, I rode the bench a lot,” Wilson said. “At first, it was kind of weird. It obviously made me feel good. I tried to stay as comfortable as possible, but it was a work in progress, getting comfortable. But I had really great teammates that uplifted me.”
Wilson redoubled her efforts. She exploded for 25 points the following night against Lafayette to kick start a run that saw the Indians drop just one of their final six games heading into the District 6-R tournament.
It was there that Wilson put up some of her best work. She recorded season-highs in points (30) and rebounds (19) in the 69-38 thrashing of Trenton while also accomplishing a season-first three-pointer.
Harris said the shot had all the pressure of Wilson always asking to take it and being denied.
“She had been egging me, she had been talking to me about that all season long about shooting the three,” Harris said. “When she hit that one…I have to say, that’s the highlight of the year for me. She just squared up in the corner and just shot it. I was like, ‘OK, I told you you could have one.’”
Wilson said the bar was high for even getting that opportunity toward the tail end of a blowout.
“Coach told me I had to make 50 threes in practice in order to shoot in the game,” she said. “…It was a very exciting moment.”
Wilson’s and Fort White’s season was ultimately cut short with a 56-37 loss to Hilliard in the Region 3-R championship for the second time in as many years. But Wilson remains optimistic heading into her senior season. She said she knows what she and her teammates have to do to finally get over the final hurdle on the way to a state semifinal appearance.
“Work, 24/7,” Wilson said. “I want to continuously work, get my teammates to work with us and just keep putting in work. Just go level-headed, stay humble and keep putting in the work.”
Wilson had one more tongue-in-cheek request for next season.
“And also be open to more things like your post (players) shooting threes.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
C: Sophia Kendrick
Lafayette, junior
Led the area with 10.2 rebounds per game while also averaging 7.5 points and 1.1 steals.
F: Jahlaya Wilson
Fort White, junior
The LCR’s Player of the Year led the area with 14.6 points and 3.5 blocks per game while also grabbing 9.2 rebounds a night to help the Indians reach the Region 3-R finals.
G: Zuri Hollie
Fort White, junior
Scored 12.2 points per game and made 30 3-pointers while also averaging 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals for the District 6-R champion Indians.
G: Mariah Cox
Fort White, senior
Contributed for the Indians across the stat sheet with 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
G: Havyn Richardson
Lafayette, junior
Made an area-most 44 3-pointers and led the Hornets with 13.6 points and 3.4 steals per game while also averaging 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
G: Jada Copeland
Lafayette, junior
Led the area with 3.4 assists while also averaging 10.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bregay Harris, Fort White
Harris led the Indians to a 17-10 record, back-to-back District 6-R titles and a second straight trip to the regional finals. Fort White cruised past Taylor County 64-30 to win its third district title ever and then blew out Madison County 70-24 in the Region 3-R semifinals. The Indians once again fell to Hilliard in the regional finals, this time by a 56-37 final.