STATE CHAMPS! SCOUT TEAM: Big Ten recruit from Clarkston, Fletcher Loyer, lands at Homestead in Indiana
The Homestead boys hoops program just got a gift from the hardwood heavens dropped at its doorstep in the form of Michigan transplant Fletcher Loyer. This kid is a mad bomber with automatic pro range and ice coursing through his veins.
The 6-foot-5 Loyer averaged 23 points, four assists and four rebounds per game last season as a sophomore for Metro Detroit suburban power Clarkston. He has offers from Michigan, Purdue and Utah and might have been the most consistently-deadly outside shooter in the whole state when his family moved to Ft. Wayne last month.
His brother, Foster, now at Michigan State, won Michigan’s Mr. Basketball in 2018 and propelled his Clarkston squad to repeat Class A state championships. His father, John played at Ohio University in the 1980s and is currently a scout with the NBA’s L.A. Clippers (he was interim head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2014).
Indiana and Notre Dame are both keeping tabs on Fletcher in the recruiting department. Katie Loyer, Fletcher’s mom, played volleyball at IU.
Homestead went 16-9 in 2020. The Spartans 2021 attack will feature Loyer and Mr. Basketball candidate Luke Goode, who pumped in 18 points per game back in the winter and is committed to Illinois. Goode is 6-6 and plays on the wing. Senior forward Grant Simmons (10 ppg.) also returns for Homestead next season.
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Brave new world
Bloomington South senior gunner Connor Hickman committed to Bradley this week. Hickman’s Panthers were 27-0 when the 2020 state tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 back in March. The 6-2 shooting guard with a quick-trigger averaged 15 points per game last season. He shared a backcourt the past two years with this past winter’s Mr. Basketball Anthony Leal, headed to IU.
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Barry, Barry happy
Stars, stripes and getting ready to be ball out in South Beach.
Lake Central’s Nick Anderson, one of Hoosierland’s true sleeper prospects in the Class of 2020, snagged a late scholarship to Division II Barry University in Miami, Florida over the July 4th holiday weekend. During his senior season last winter, Anderson tickled the twine for 25 points per game and was the best 3-point assassin in Northwest Indiana.
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A trio of Ft. Wayne backcourt studs to watch for
• Naylon Thompson (Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers 6-5 Sr. G) — Savage beast in the open floor, great finisher, gets heated in a hurry. Thompson put up 16 points per game and recently scooped an offer from Cleveland State.
• Jalen Jackson (Ft. Wayne Carroll 6-0 Jr. G) — Underrated Ft. Wayne floor general extraordinaire. Grind-to-shine type. Logged 12 points, four assists and four rebounds per night.
• Karson Jenkins (Ft. Wayne Snider 5-10 Sr. G) — Nails tough point guard, a poised and polished pace-setter.
— SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN
