For the past three years, Derek Wolfley has been one of the top players in the Genesee Region League and a big reason why the Attica basketball team has had success.
But now Attica's best player ever is at Iona, where he is playing Division I basketball. He was the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,474 points and had 932 career rebounds.
Life without Wolfley begins this season for the Blue Devils.
While it is no easy task to replace a legend, Attica now has a chance to develop a new identity around some very talented players that aren't in one players shadow anymore.
The most talented of those players is junior guard Tate Westermeier. The 6-foot, 155-pound shooting guard has a natural ability to score and is going to be the focus of the Attica offense.
Westermeier plays basketball year-round and was productive as a sophomore last year, on Attica's 15-6 squad. He even scored 16 points in the season-ending 62-52 loss to Freddie Thomas in the sectional quarterfinals.
While Westermeier is going to be responsible for a lot of the scoring, senior Shawn Dupuis will also be a top option.
Wolfley is the biggest name Attica lost from last year, but Dustin Keicher was a solid point guard and the Blue Devils will be filling that role with a pair of sophomores.
Brad Clark looks like the top option to run the point and led the team in scoring during Wednesday's loss to Midlakes. Classmate Zach Fleiss is also going to be running the point.
Even though Attica lost the 6-foot-6 Wolfley, there is still plenty of size in the paint.
Senior Matt Sheffield is 6-foot-5 and Bryan Thompson is 6-foot-2, with both expecting to see a lot of playing time.
The other big man has a familiar name - Craig Wolfley. He is the younger brother of Derek, but is a different type of player.
Derek could pull up and hit jumpers from anywhere with his trim and athletic frame. Craig - a junior - is 6-foot-4 and weighs 242 pounds. He handles the ball well for a big man and is a decent scorer, but doesn't have Derek's scoring ability. Any forward for Attica will have a lot to live up to, but when you share a last name with the school's best player of all time, it can be that much more pressure.
Attica has a long history of sectional playoff failures in the "big 3", but the football team won a quarterfinal game this past fall and the basketball team took notice. They will be trying to win the GR Division I title, and then make some history of their own come playoff time.
