By Kyle Coppola
Wildwood Boys Basketball Ranked #6 In FHSAA Class Rural District
Wildwood, FL – The Wildwood Middle High Boys basketball team is ranked as the #1 team in points scored for FHSAA Class Rural. They are at 70.6 Points per game. They also have the second ranked offense in FHSAA Rural. The Wildcats are proving to everyone why they will be one of the teams to beat come tournament time this season.
“We have fantastic young men who have tremendous character, work ethic, and passion for the game and for one another. We have quickly become like a family and that has expedited the turnaround we are seeing this season.” says assistant coach David Krakoff.
(Wildwood’s Ashton Wilson lines up for a foul shot. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
Wildwood only won four games last year and they have tripled that number with a few games in the regular season left to play. “It’s been about teaching these guys how to play rather than teaching them plays. We give them rules and teach them to make good decisions and share the ball. The result has been a balanced, fast-paced offense that’s difficult to guard or prepare for. Basketball should be fun and when you score lots of points it becomes a whole lot more fun and also allows for more room for error.” says coach Krakoff.
(Demetrius Knight has provided experience to the Wildwood roster. Wildwood is a young team but Knights is one of a few upper classman who are part of the roster. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)
Wildwood has been led by a freshman who is taking central Florida by storm. Demarius Knight is averaging 14.4 points per game. He has been an absolute breakout star for Wildwood. He has been aided by Louis Brown who brings experience to the team. The junior is averaging 11.4 points per game. Meanwhile Demarius’s older brother Demetrius Knight who is a junior has also contributed. It’s been fun to watch this team continue to improve each game and punch above their weight class.
While Wildwood lost last night in a close game to Zephyrhills 71-66 that was an FHSAA Class 5A school. Despite Wildwood playing in FHSAA Class Rural they are having an enormous year. “We are a very young team but the loss was good for us. Sometimes you lose focus as a young team. It was bound to happen sooner or later but it allows us to refocus.” says coach Krakoff.
Wilwood has the weekend off before a what should be a good game at home against South Lake on janurary 14th at 7:30pm.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
