Leading off today: The rebuilding process for the boys basketball team at Nichols is going to be more complicated than anticipated following the news that all-state selection Stan Wier, who helped the Vikings to a Federation Class A championship last March, will not return in the fall.

   Wier, a 6-foot-2 rising junior who averaged 16.5 points and made the New York State Sportswriters Association's fifth-team all-state squad, told The Buffalo News he is exploring his options. His younger brother Cam will also be transferring.

   Nichols was already losing graduates Ron Canestro (Rochester Institute of Technology), Andy MacKinnon (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), Connor VanDeGriff (Hobart) and NYSSWA Class A player of the year Will Regan (Virginia).

   If Stan Wier stays close to home it's possible he'll return to East Aurora, where he played as a freshman. However, he told the paper he's considering multiple options that include members of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.

   Wier told the paper he's already been offered scholarships from Rhode Island and Colgate.

   Fort Hamilton names football coach: Daniel Perez is replacing his mentor at Fort Hamilton.

   Vinny Laino, 55, has retired as the Tigers' football coach after posting a 150-60 mark in 20 seasons with four PSAL championships, and his former two-way lineman is taking over. Perez graduated in 1997 and joined the coaching staff almost immediately while attending Brooklyn College.

   Perez, 31, most recently had been the defensive coordinator during PSAL title seasons in 2005 and 2006, and unbeaten regular seasons in 2008 and 2009.

   “He’s a very capable, outstanding young coach and he’ll do a great job,” Laino told The New York Post. "He’s gonna fit in perfectly. I’m sure things are going to go very smoothly. We’re not gonna miss a beat."

   O-A punter to Syracuse: Syracuse continues luring in-state talent by locking up another commitment this week. The thing is, the better the Orange become, the less they're likely to use Jon Fisher once he suits up for them in 2011.

   Fisher is a punter entering his senior year at Oakfield-Alabama area, not far from where Orange special teams coach Bob Casullo attended college at Brockport State. When Casullo offered following SU's three-day camp, Fisher jumped.

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   Fisher averaged 46.7 yards per attempt for the Hornets last fall, which attracted the attention of fellow Big East members UConn, West Virginia and Rutgers.

   Tough act to follow: If Marc DeLuca has the same sort of staying power as the previous guy on the job, St. Raymond's won't be hiring the third baseball coach in program history until about 2055.

   DeLuca is replacing Ron Patnosh, who retired from coaching last month after 45 years as the school's first baseball coach. DeLuca, a Mount St. Michael, grad, was an assistant at St. Ray's the last six seasons.

   "It’s like being the next guy to coach Penn State after Joe Paterno after everything Paterno has done for that school besides just coaching,” DeLuca told The New York Post. "I’m working toward being my own person because you cannot replace his legacy. I’m just looking to build off of it, learn from it and continue it into the future.”

   Extra points: Mike Orbinati, a longtime upstate coach and AD, died Tuesday at the age of 82. His 1958 team at Cardinal Mindszenty in Dunkirk went 8-0 followed by a 7-1 season with six shutouts, and Orbinati was a coach and then AD at Utica Proctor from 1968 to 1991, The Observer-Dispatch reported. . . . Rochester's Bishop Kearney will move up from Class A2 to A1 in Section 5 basketball. Aquinas, an early contender to reach Glens Falls, is also playing up again, competing in Class A2.