BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
CLARKSTON — Behind every good point guard there is at least one quality running mate.
That is most certainly the case for Clarkston sophomore Foster Loyer. The heady point guard has certainly blended well with junior transfer Dylan Alderson to form quite a tandem in Wolves Country.
Loyer, a 6-foot-1 stalwart and perhaps the top sophomore in Michigan, has teamed up with Alderson this season to form quite a potent threat on both ends of the hardcourt.
“I knew (Foster) through AAU ball. I was excited when I learned we were moving to Clarkston,” said Alderson, a long-armed and wirery-type player who can play inside or out and is not bashful on the boards, either. “I think we have some good chemistry out there.”
Alderson is a 6-foot-4 wing who came over from Davison after earning Class All-State Honorable Mention honors. He averaged 17.4 points and outing last winter.
Loyer became the first freshman in more than three decades to be named an unanimous selection to the Associated Press Class A All-State First Team as a freshman. He averaged a stellar 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.9 steals and only 2.6 turnovers an outing while leading Clarkston to a 25-1 record.
Loyer is already on the radar of major Division I college programs and he plays beyond his years. Alderson is starting to gain some sniffs from college scouts.
“He has stepped in and became an important (piece) to our team,” noted Loyer of Alderson. “I love playing with him — he fits in well. He gives us another (weapon).”
Playing at Clarkston, one of the state’s top Class A programs year-in and year-out, will only help bolster Alderson’s ever-improving resume. And playing along with Loyer and in veteran Clarkston coach Dan Fife’s proven flex system system will not only help Alderson blossom, but help Clarkston achieve major success.
“That’s not easy to do, move and switch schools and to have everybody welcome him,” said Fife. “We’ve had transfers before and I know it’s never easy on them. But Dylan has done a great job learning our system and fitting in to what we are trying to do. He’s done a nice job so far.”
“As for Foster…what can you say about him?,” smiled Fife, who has already coached one Mr. Basketball and another runner-up to Mr. Basketball — both of his sons in Dane (1998) and Dugan (1992). “The kid is very smart. His (basketball IQ) is high and his ability to run the offense has never been an issue. He is the quarterback on the court.”
Already this season, Loyer scorched Romulus for 44 points at a holidays showcase and on several occasions in his short career recorded double-digits with assists. Alderson’s breakout game in a Clarkston uniform was 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 60-47 victory Jan. 14 over North Farmington in a game featuring two top-10 state-ranked teams.
What has made the duo’s performances even more noteworthy is not only the fact that Clarkston — a state quarterfinalist last season — only returned four players from last winter, but that 6-4 senior sharpshooter Talib Throgmorton has been out indefinitely with an ankle injury, not to mention a rash of minor injuries to bench players that has hampered the Wolves’ depth chart.
“We’ve had some injuries and I thought we were a little overrated at the beginning of the season. That must have been based on what we did last season because we only brought back four guys this year,” said Fife. “But we’ve responded well. It’s a long season sand we’re not there yet.”
Looking at the big picture, Loyer said that he hopes to lead his team to the Breslin Center this season, site of the Class A Final Four, and help Clarkston eventually win its first state title. The Wolves reached the state semifinals in both 1980 and 2009 but have never finished the season as the last team standing.
“(Dylan and I) have talked about it — we all have. We want to win the state championship one day,” said Loyer. “Clarkston has had so many great teams over the years. It would be a dream for us to finally get to the state finals and win a state title.”
If that happens this season or next, lest-assured it will be the duo of Loyer and Alderson leading the charge.