BOYS BASKETBALL: Dirty jobs Nick Wells an unsung hero for Clarkston
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
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EAST LANSING — You won’t find Nick Wells on any All-State or All-County lists this spring.
Those are reserved mainly for players who are scorers and snare the limelight night-in and night-out on the basketball court.
You won’t find Nick Wells being discussed on message boards or being interviewed by the press very often, either.
That hasn’t deterred the 6-foot-2 senior guard from Clarkston from becoming an invaluable piece to the Wolves’ well-oiled machine. He is most definitely a key cog in Clarkston’s grand scheme of things.
Wells and his teammates will face Holland West Ottawa Saturday in the 12:15 p.m. Class A state finals at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University — and he’s steadily contributed not only during this 2018 state tournament run but also his career. He is more than just a name in the scorebook or on the roster.
“He’s a (prototypical) Clarkston kid, very fundamentally sound,” offered Clarkston coach Dan Fife. “He night not score a ton — but he can if you leave him open — and he might not grab the spotlight, but he’s a good basketball player. He’s does an awful lot for us. I like the way he rebounds for us. He’ll get in their with the bigs and comes away with the basketball an awful lot.”
Even Wells’ star teammate — Michigan Mr. Basketball winner and Michigan State-bound Foster Loyer — had nothing but good things about his teammate and close friend, who often does the dirty work out on the basketball court for top-ranked Clarkston.
Clarkston senior guard Nick Wells is a two-year starter for the Wolves, who are one win away from a second consecutive Class A state championship.
“Nick Wells goes out there and always gives it 110 percent,” smiled Loyer. “He gets steals, rebounds. He guards the other team’s top player or one of their top players. He steps up to the challenge each and every day.That’s Clarkston basketball, going out there and doing our best at every practice and every game.”
Wells boxes out extremely well and is always crashing the boards. The three-year varsity veteran and two-year starter for the defending state champion Wolves rarely has a game where he isn’t making an impact even though he rarely finishes a game scoring in double figures.
Wells’ box score line following Friday’s 74-49 state semifinals triumph over Warren DeLaSalle read four points, six rebounds, three steals, one block, one assist and no turnovers.
On a team of several quality performers and bevy of Division I, Division II and NAIA college recruits, don’t get fooled by Wells just averaging around six points a game.
He leads the Wolves in floor burns.
And he is amongst the Clarkston leaders in rebounds, steals, assists and all-out hustle plays.
“I don’t mind doing all the little things. I just want to help my team win basketball games,” said Wells after his team defeated Orchard Lake St. Mary’s for the regional championship on March 15. “I’ll guard, play defense, go after loose balls, get rebounds. I don’t mind all of that at all.”
Throughout six tournament games, Clarkston is winning by an average of 24.7 points a game and all opponents have been held to 50 or less points. Wells has had some key contributions along the way — all over the floor.
He had four points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals against St. Mary’s. In a regional semifinal win over Troy, Wells collected four points, nine boards and five assists, while in the state quarterfinals against Flint Carman-Ainsworth, he contributed seven points, six rebounds and two assists.
Not bad for a player who has had little notoriety for a program that is 96-6 the past four seasons and for a team that is one win away from a second consecutive Class A state championship.
“I’ve had players like this over the years, players that sacrifice scoring to do the little things for us to compete,” said Fife. “He’s meant a lot to us the past couple of years.”
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