BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — While the players change, the expectations on the basketball court never seem to deter at Clarkston.
After all, when you have the track record as the Wolves, why should they?
Clarkston, Oakland County’s largest high school, has won nine of the past 10 Oakland Activities Association Red Division titles and 12 of 13. That success is for starters.
In the Class A state tournament, the Wolves have captured district crowns in 18 of 20 seasons and over the past quarter century, have won at least a district crown in 22 of 25 seasons (they missed in 1993, 2012 and 2013). No other public high school in Oakland County can even come close to those numbers.
At the regional level, Clarkston has won 12 regional titles — and 11 in 20 years. Two Final Four runs have been put together (1980, 2009) but the Wolves have never played on the final day of the season since launching its program some century ago.
“There are so many things that must happen to get to that point,” admitted veteran Clarkston coach Dan Fife, who enters his 34th season at the helm. “We’ve been to the quarters several times where we were just a play of two from going (to the Final Four) and came up short.”
That was last year, when the Wolves (24-1) dropped a 56-54 heartbreaker to Detroit U-D Jesuit on a buzzer-beater.
This season, the Wolves will again be led by savvy 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard. As a freshman, Loyer averaged around 17 points and six assists an outing and pulled off the rare feat by being the first ninth grader to earn unanimous Class A All-State First Team accolades form the Associated Press in over 30 years.
He is the only returning starter.
“I know someone ranked us really high. We only have one returning starter and 11 new kids this season,” noted Fife, somewhat puzzled by the top 10 ranking. “We are very young with as many as five sophomores playing for us. We have some injuries and a lot of new players to work in. We are a work in progress.”
Clarkston opened the 2015-16 campaign looking more like a well-oiled machine than a squad with multiple new parts.
The Wolves do return long-armed 6-4 senior sharpshooter Talib Throgmorton, who was a lethal weapon from the perimeter coming off the bench last season. Throw in 6-4 junior transfer Dylan Alderson into the mix — Alderson was All-State Honorable Mention at Davison last season as a sophomore — and Clarkston has three high-quality players that alone can do some serious damage.
Mitch Heaton, another long-armed player, takes his 6-6 frame into the post to lead the Wolves inside game. He played sparingly last season behind a large senior class. Ryan Holmes, a 6-1 senior guard, is the only other player that saw significant minutes last season. There are only three seniors on a roster of 17.
Sophomores guard C.J. Robinson (5-11) was called up to varsity late last season and will be a key component in a few weeks when his knee is fully healed. Tieler Houston (6-2) is another talented sophomore who has a bright future for the Wolves.
A pair of 6-5 sophomores, Chase Wasilk and Ben Spiker, will also help in the post, while 6-3 sophomore forward Nick Wells is back after missing most of the junior-varsity season last winter. Lucas Keller, a 6-6 sophomore forward, will also see minutes, while 5-6 junior Shayan Ghadamabadi provides another ball-handler in the Wolves’ flex system.
“We have a lot of good players, but we are still very young. I don’t know how good we can be because when you only have a couple of seniors and only four players that saw (significant) minutes last season at the varsity level,’ offered Fife. “We have a long way to go. We could be very good. But so much has to happen before I will call them that.”