Hey everybody! Start taking notice of this Wilder kid
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For some reason, everybody in the media doesn’t like to talk about Santa Clara forward James Wilder. The 6-foot-2 standout has had a great season for Santa Clara, but he often gets lost in the Cierre Wood-Randi Vines shuffle.
‘For some reason, nobody really pays attention to James,’ Santa Clara Coach Michael Sandoval said. ‘Reporters always ask me about everybody else but him. The only ones who’ve been noticing are coaches.’
Wilder scored a team-high 18 points as Santa Clara officially announced its Tri-Valley League title intentions with a 67-64 victory over host Oaks Christian on Monday. Oaks Christian’s Tyler McGrath netted a game-high 27 points and teammate Matt Johnson had 16 points and seven assists, but it was Wilder’s efforts in the first half that helped the Saints keep the game close.
Wilder scored 14 points in the first half, most of which came in the first quarter when the Lions enjoyed their biggest lead of the game. From there, his efforts allowed the Saints to trade leads with the Lions throughout the last three quarters. And Wilder was pleased all his hard work resulted in rewards.
‘Judging by the score, I’d say we all had a good night,’ Wilder said. ‘I’m just happy I could help us stay in the game and that we pulled it off.’
So, Coach Sandoval, I definitely noticed Wilder. And I’m pretty sure all the other reporters in the Oaks Christian gymnasium saw him too.
-- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image from www.sdgfp.info/.../