2026 guard Adrian Wilder helps lead Butler High School to the region final tonight against J’Town. Wilder has been a key catalyst for Bears all season long, leading them in scoring at 14.9 points per game and shooting 43.1% from three on high volume. He hit a buzzer beater in the region semifinals against PRP to help them get to this point, and he covers tonight’s matchup, his big shot, and thoughts on his upcoming summer with MADE Hoops alongside his KY Ambition teammates.
Region Championship: “It is very exciting and something I have been anticipating for a while now and all day today. I feel confident if we all stay focused too. We have to keep them out of the lane and make them shoot contested shots, and execute on the offensive end where we can find the points. We can’t get caught up in any talking or anything but focus on the game itself.”
Semifinal Buzzer Beater: “We were running a play to try to get a slip and cut to the rim but it wasn’t open and we kind of just improvised. It was the biggest moment in my high school career, a lot of pressure but once it went in I was just happy and relieved our season stayed alive.”
Recruitment: “I recently went on the visit to EKU and I talked to Georetown (NAIA) after the first round of the LIT against PRP. EKU tells me to just keep on playing how I have been playing and take our team to Rupp which is what the team and I hope to do tonight. Georgetown was giving me advice on some things and told me my game looked good, though.”
Goals For Summer: “To improve my weaknesses, mainly defense and ball handling, but improve everything else even more, too. I want to make an ever bigger name for myself going into senior season.”
MADE Hoops & KY Ambition: “It is definitely going to be the most important AAU season I have had ever and I’m excited for all the opportunities. We have a lot of great varsity players from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and even 8th region, and we always play fast and speed the game up, which has been our style for a long time now.”
