RIVIERA BEACH — With a 6-foot-9 frame, Suncoast basketball star Ian Smikle is hard to miss.

And if you don’t turn your head at his build, you do when you hear The Post's Athlete of the Week winner referred to as ”The Big Wiggle.”

A no-brainer at center and forward, Smikle became a household name in Palm Beach County when he gained notoriety for his role in the Chargers’ “Big Three” as a sophomore.

Smikle’s nickname, however, is a little more recent than the spark of Suncoast’s postseason success.

No, it’s not because he has an affinity for ”Fruit Salad” by the Australian children’s music group The Wiggles. Instead, it’s his ”Shimmie Shake” (also by The Wiggles) in the paint, so to speak.

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“I went to the Sun Bash tournament down there in St. Petersburg and I remember I had a lot of good footwork and the coaches loved it,” Smikle said.

He gave a little jig and triggered his memory. “They was like, ‘Man, that’s The Big Wiggle,’” Smikle laughed.

As a physical rebounder looking to make a name in the college hoops space, Smikle watches a lot of Tar Heel basketball, looking up to such players as 7-footer Armando Bacot, the second North Carolina player in the past 50 seasons to average a double-double in points and rebounds.

A similar dominance in the preps scene is what earned an Athlete of the Week nomination for Smikle, winning over 60% of votes for averaging 15.7 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. Out of all hoopers in Florida, Smikle ranks No. 22 in rebounds and No. 8 in double-doubles with 15 on the year.

When Smikle was nominated in late January, Suncoast was on a 10-game win streak.

It could’ve gone to 14 and counting had it not been for a one-point loss to Class 6A Dwyer, when Smikle posted one of his best defensive performances of the season. He finished with 10 points, 17 rebounds — 12 on defense — two steals and two blocks.

Well-balanced performances against the nationally ranked Panthers and on travel circuits have warranted offers from Albany State and High Point University.

“I hear a lot of coaches say I’ve got a lot of upside and that's pretty good,” Smikle said, adding recruiters like his potential when it comes to getting a jump shot, putting the ball on the floor, and getting to the rim better.

”You don't want to hear somebody say, ‘He's kind of leveling out,’ because that means that you have no more room to grow,” he continued.

Smikle welcomes change, but he’s almost certain there’ll never be a better nickname, offering a resounding yes when asked whether he’d still be "The Big Wiggle" at the next level.

He’s just as confident that Suncoast’s next appearance — a Friday battle with Stranahan for the district championship — “will be personal.”

“They’re coming off on a high so we just want to make sure that we can stop them,” Smikle said. ”We lost to them by one point last year.”

Regardless of whether the Chargers return the champion title for District 14 to Riviera Beach on Friday, Suncoast is still a top contender for the state championship, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A and No. 17 in the state.

Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Suncoast basketball's Ian ‘The Big Wiggle’ Smikle got his nickname