The Wildwood Middle High School boys basketball team is enjoying a strong season, posting a 14-2 record and riding a 10-game winning streak.

Adiender Feliciano is the head coach of Wildwood boys basketball. Coach Feliciano came from Williston, where he was part of two state championship teams in 2023 and 2024 as an assistant coach. He chose to come to Wildwood to teach young men the value of hard work and what it means to play to a standard.

“From the moment I accepted the job at Wildwood in June 2025, these boys have been in the gym nonstop because they wanted success,” he says.

During the fall, Wildwood played several major Orlando-area teams to challenge themselves against high-level competition. The team also completed a six-week preseason conditioning program, described by players as one of the toughest stretches of their lives.

Wildwood’s defensive style is built on 94 feet of pressure, playing full-court man-to-man defense for the entire game. Offensively, the team plays at a fast pace, a style that demands top physical conditioning.

“Our recipe for success involves four to five players scoring in double figures,” Feliciano says. “We share the ball and are a very connected group, both offensively and defensively.”

With players who have aspirations of competing at the college level, Feliciano and his staff push the team and hold players to a higher standard. Over the past 13 years, Feliciano has helped more than 60 players earn college scholarships, including NBA first-round picks Asa Newell of the Atlanta Hawks and Nassir Little of the Portland Trail Blazers.

“What I love about this group is that we’ve won 10 games in a row and no one even knew or cared about the streak,” Feliciano says. “Our goal every game is to go 1-0.”

Off the court, Feliciano places a strong emphasis on family and community involvement. The team has participated in projects such as helping build 83 beds with Sleep in Heavenly Peace at the Sumter County Fairgrounds and gifting children Christmas presents during halftime of a game.

“We want the community to see our young men as role models who want to make a lasting impact right here in our own backyard,” he says. “I believe my job as a coach is to help mold these young men and make them the best people, students and athletes they can be during their time at Wildwood. That happens by showing them how much I care and holding them accountable.”

Story and photos provided by Fred Griffin Jr.