Winter all-area series: Here are the top 2024 Savannah-area boys basketball players

When Johnson lost on its home court to Savannah Country Day in the Region 3-3A boys basketball tournament finals, Atom Smasher Coach Chuck Campbell used it as a motivational tool for his squad — letting his players know that if they wanted to reach their goals, things had to change immediately.

Campbell's squad responded with a playoff run that won't be forgotten at a school with a tradition of basketball excellence.

Entering the Class 3A playoffs unranked, the Atom Smashers knocked off three ranked squads, including a road win at Cross Creek, to reach the state finals for the first time since 2013. It was a meaningful run for Campbell, 48, whose teams reached the state quarterfinals in his first three seasons at the helm.

After the loss to Sandy Creek in the state finals, Campbell told his players how proud he was of their toughness down the stretch, and how much they meant to him as a coach and a person.

"I told them this was the best two weeks of my life as a coach," Campbell said after the game. "They always tease me about all the pictures I put up on Instagram. But I wanted to create a collage of memories that we'll never forget."

Campbell brings Harlem roots to Johnson How Chuck Campbell's Johnson squad fed off his energy to reach state basketball finals

Johnson's run ends in state finals Johnson's Cinderella playoff run ends with loss in 3A state basketball final

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Campbell is the All-Greater Savannah Coach of the Year. He was also named the Class 3A State Coach of the Year by Sandysspiel.com.

The All-Greater Savannah Boys Basketball team is announced today, with two players from Campbell's squad earning first-team honors in Josh Quarterman and Favion Kirkwood. The first-team selections will be recognized at the Coastal Empire High School Sports Awards show on June 7 at the Johnny Mercer Theatre at the Savannah Civic Center, where the Boys Basketball Player of the Year will be announced. The show is produced with support from Chatham Orthopaedic Associates.

For more information about the show and to opt into email updates, visit its website and you can also follow it on Facebook.

Here is the 2024 All-Greater Savannah Boys Basketball Team.

First Team

Rudy Anderson, Savannah Country Day, fresh., G

Anderson helped lead Savannah Country Day, a No. 7 seed, to the Region 3-3A tournament title with a win at Johnson as the Hornets went on to advance to the Class 3A Sweet 16. The All-Region first-team selection averaged 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He was named the Class 3A State Freshman of the Year by Sandysspiel.com

Toland Daughtry III, New Hampstead, sr., G

Daughtry was named the Region 3-4A Player of the Year as he helped lead the Phoenix to a 10-0 mark in region play. The senior did it all for New Hampstead as a lockdown defender with a penchant for blocking shots. He helped lead the Phoenix to the state semifinals for the first time in school history. He was named the best passer among Class 4A players in the state and was an honorable mention Class 4A All-State pick by Sandysspiel.com

Zayden Edwards, St. Andrew's, jr., G

Edwards was named the GIAA Class 3A State Player of the Year. He helped lead the Lions to the state semifinals, after playing a big role in back-to-back state titles in his first two seasons. Edwards averaged 16.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game and helped lead the Lions to road wins over Johnson and Savannah High.

Tahshaun Frasier, Bradwell Institute, sr., G

Frasier was named the Region 1-5A Co-Player of the Year as he averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.6 steals per game for a Bradwell team that finished 22-7 and reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. He has signed to play at Albany State.

Caleb Jones, Benedictine, jr,, G

Jones led the GHSA in scoring, across all classifications, with 27.8 points per game, according to Maxpreps.com. The All-Region 3-4A first-team pick also had 5.3 rebounds, 27 assists and two steals per game as he helped lead the Cadets to the Class 4A state semifinals for the second year in a row. He was a first-team Class 4A All-State pick by Sandysspiel.com.

Maki Joyner, Savannah High, jr., G

Joyner was named the Region 3-A Division I Player of the Year as he helped lead the Blue Jackets to a region title. he averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He injured his ankle and had to sit out in the Blue Jackets loss to Paideia. He was a first-team Class A Division 1 All-State pick by Sandysspiel.com.

Favion Kirkwood, Johnson, jr., G

Kirkwood had a breakout year for Johnson and was a key contributor in the playoff run. He averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game and earned All-Region 3-3A first-team honors. He was an honorable mention Class 3A All-State pick by Sandysspiel.com.

Jonathon Pickering, Woodville-Tompkins, jr., G

Pickering was a leader on a balanced Wolverine squad that finished second in Region 3-A Division I and closed the season with a 22-5 record. He averaged 16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game and was a first-team All-Region selection.

Rob Spaulding, Savannah Country Day, sr., G

Spaulding led the Hornets with 16.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game and was second with 2.5 assists per game. He was a Class 3A All-State honorable mention pick by Sandysspiel.com. He was a leader in the Hornets' run to the Region 3-3A title and to the Sweet 16 in the playoffs.

Will Thompson, St. Andrew's, sr., G

The senior earned first-team All-State honors in GIAA after helping lead the Lions to the Class 3A state semifinals. The sharp-shooting guard set a school record with 130 three-pointers on the year and hit 40% from beyond the arc while averaging 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He has signed to play at Oglethorpe University.

Ashton Wright, Bethesda Academy, sr., G

Wright helped lead the Blazers to the SCISA Class 2A state title game and was an SCISA All-State first-team selection. He averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals and helped lead the Blazers to a win over Savannah Country Day.

Josh Quarterman, Johnson, sr., G

Quarterman was named the Region 3-3A Player of the Year and helped lead the Atom Smashers to the Class 3A state finals, where they lost to Sandy Creek. He averaged 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He was a second-team All-State pick in Class 3A by Sandysspiel.com.

Second team

Sidney Flaggs, Groves, sr., G

Jeremiah James, Jenkins, sr., G

Matas Aidietis, Memorial Day, sr., G

Jermaine Edwards, Savannah High, sr., G/F

AJ Williams, New Hampstead, fresh., G

Cormari Jones, Johnson, sr., G

CJ Gaines, Calvary Day, sr., G

Chris Perry, Bradwell, soph., F

Antoine Youmans, New Hampstead, jr. G

Bam Williams, Woodville-Tompkins, sr., G

Deshawn Davis, Savannah High, jr., F

Elijah Mincey, Bryan County, jr., G

LaDon Bryant, Benedictine, sr., W

Braylen Butterworth, Islands, sr., G

Landon Page, Windsor Forest, sr., G

Jermontae Brown, Savannah High, jr., G

Joey Bell, Woodville-Tompkins, sr., G

Ja'Cari Glover, New Hampstead, soph., F

Honorable Mention

Beach — Chandler Reid, Jayden Newton

Benedictine — Ejay Washington, Houston Jackson

Bethesda — Jacari McKay, Israel Wright

Bradwell — Jamal Jackson, Chris Owens

Bryan County — Chris Winfree

Calvary Day — Kuol Deng

Coastal Homeschool — Kyrin Couvson

Effingham County — Jordan Goldwire, Hayden Eason

Groves — Tyrone Chisholm, Kenye Williams

Habersham — Luke Rowland,

Islands — Jordan Cave

Jenkins — AJ Bynum

Johnson — Kadin Davis

Liberty County — Elijah Brown, Jah'Bari Felix

Memorial Day — Alex Halenar

New Hampstead — Ra'Shawn Truell

Richmond Hill — Joshua Scott, Bryce Hendricks

Savannah Christian — Blake Hall

South Effingham — Will Harlin

St. Andrew's — Jaylen Sheppard

Windsor Forest — Ryheim Manning

Woodville-Tompkins — Tyler Grant

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Here are the top 2024 Savannah-area high school boys basketball players