VEEDERSBURG — Whether it was being the defensive leader, which is what Fountain Central boys basketball prides themselves in, or scoring nearly 18 points per game, Mustang senior Isaac Gayler saved his best season for last. It wasn’t just the basketball court where Gayler excelled. On the gridiron, Gayler was a star player for the Mustangs with 829 yards receiving along with 14 touchdowns. That was just the beginning of what’s been a great final season as this past winter Gayler scored 17.2 points per game, grabbed 7.5 rebounds, added a steal and a half a block on defense.
Standing at 6’5, Gayler used his big frame to power his way to the basket and body up opposing players on the defensive side. Mustang coach Greg Dean saw Gayler thrive in his final season and noted how proud he was of his senior.
“There’s no question that with all the statistics and what he accomplished individually there’s a lot to be proud of with him,” Dean said. “I think I can speak for him in that in all endeavors there’s was a little more team success because he’s a team-first guy. Everyone could see that he was laying it on the line every night. He’s earned every bit of his success with all the work he’s done to get here. It’s the hours that people don’t see that really started to pay off for him and I’m really proud of all that he accomplished.”
Gayler showed his true potential this season with his play. With his success on the court, Gayler is the 2023-24 Journal Review Boys Basketball Player of the Year. It’s the second straight season the Mustangs have taken home player of the year honors.
“I can’t remember a day that I wasn’t in the gym just trying to get stronger and better,” Gayler said of his preparation for his senior year. “I was just trying to be most athletic I could be and be the best version of myself. Personally I had some unfinished business from the last few years that I wanted to make up for and that was all the motivation I needed.”
Gayler was a sophomore when Dean got to the Mustangs three years ago. It didn’t take him very long to realize that he had a special group of sophomores on his hands. A group that featured the likes of Koby Wolf, Owen Acton and Gayler just to name a few, the potential was there and fast forward to now, Dean and Gayler along with the rest of that group have been a special one for the Mustangs.
“This class was a special one because those guys just loved to play,” Dean said. “That’s what really drew me to them right away. My first year we opened up playing five games in a four-five day span and because of how that was set up, we had to play a lot of young guys. Ike was one of those guys that took full advantage of that. He went from just a JV guy to someone who was going to start some varsity for us. It was such an integral part of how we got started and the rest is really history.”
Gayler finishes his FC career with 879 points which puts him 12th in school history. His 444 career rebounds are eighth in school history as the senior certainly carved out a very good career with the Mustangs.
Two areas where Gayler saw arguably the most improvement was how to be a leader along with being the anchor of the Mustang defense. He talks about both of those areas of his game improved over the course of the last few seasons.
“This year was definitely different because we had so many great senior leaders last year and I was quiet in the background and learned from those guys. This year I really grew into that leadership role and started to feel a lot more comfortable with being that one who talks at practice and in games. Defensively it helped having guys like Mason (Larkin) and Luke (Foxworthy) that really were our anchors. I came into this year wanting to work hard on defense along with letting the offensive side of things come naturally.”
Dean rounded out his comments about Gayler by saying that he’s going to be someone who he is constantly using as an example with his young guys. Gayler was a player that was looked up to by the younger players in the program and the young FC fans that came to watch him play.
“He’s such a great example for all of young players and fans,” Dean said. “Everyone when they come to our summer camps and games they gravitate towards Ike. His desire and work ethic is definitely going to rub off on those younger players. I’m certainly going to use him as an example for how a player should be. There was never a doubt that I’d see him in the gym working out and he’s one that we’re all going to miss having around.”
