Re: Rotnei Clarke

[Old Titan]

Honestly, I would just like to hear RC say one nice thing about ORU and/or the coaches.

Just one.

He says really nice things about TU, OU, Kansas and Kentucky, and their coaches.

All the time.

But in all this time, after all these stories and interviews, not one word about ORU.

Other than saying his dad being there wouldn't impact his decision.

Is it asking too much for just a little public props?

(Of course, if he SIGNS with us, all is forgiven! )

[tmh8286]

Honestly, I would just like to hear RC say one nice thing about ORU and/or the coaches.

Just one.

He says really nice things about TU, OU, Kansas and Kentucky, and their coaches.

All the time.

But in all this time, after all these stories and interviews, not one word about ORU.

Other than saying his dad being there wouldn't impact his decision.

Is it asking too much for just a little public props?

(Of course, if he SIGNS with us, all is forgiven! )

I've been gone for a week, so I'm kind of interloping on this discussion, but I couldn't agree more, OT.  Throw us a bone sometime, even if it's a little one, Rotnei!

[dbl78]

Honestly, I would just like to hear RC say one nice thing about ORU and/or the coaches.

Just one.

He says really nice things about TU, OU, Kansas and Kentucky, and their coaches.

All the time.

But in all this time, after all these stories and interviews, not one word about ORU.

Other than saying his dad being there wouldn't impact his decision.

Is it asking too much for just a little public props?

(Of course, if he SIGNS with us, all is forgiven! )

Relax OT.

Think marketing - if he metions ORU his stock will drop - it will be assumed that since his Dad is already here, he will be sign with us and he will not get offers from UK/KU/OU, etc. 

He's creating buzz that will not only help him, it will help us as well, if he decides to sign with us.

I think that it's very interesting that one of his AAU teamates, that was below our radar screen, verbally committed.

I believe that ORU has some inherent advantages for him such as faith, location, coaching staff, but probably the biggest, is that he will be the go to guy for his entire career - at Kentucky or Kansas it is certainly plausible that he could get benched for the next NBA lottery pick that needs to spend a year in college.  What are his options at that point - red shirt or play a position that is not his best and watch his statistics and his NBA dreams plummet.

It appears that he is a very astute young man, who is doing a great job of marketing himself.  At this point, we do not need overanalyze every purported quote he makes - most of them were probably taken out of context anyway.

p.s. Great post on Arnold D.!!  You and your contacts who brought Jerry Hale in for A.D.'s induction are what make ORU special.  There is a genuine concern about the individual both when they are playing and after they leave - unlike some programs where the players are interchangeable parts designed to fill the seats and generate revenue for the athletic program.

[orumom]

Think marketing - if he mentions ORU his stock will drop - it will be assumed that since his Dad is already here, he will be sign with us and he will not get offers from UK/KU/OU, etc.

He's creating buzz that will not only help him, it will help us as well, if he decides to sign with us.

I think that it's very interesting that one of his AAU teamates, that was below our radar screen, verbally committed.

It appears that he is a very astute young man, who is doing a great job of marketing himself.  At this point, we do not need overanalyze every purported quote he makes - most of them were probably taken out of context anyway.

Very  perceptive dbl & I tend to agree with you across the board.

[djenkins13]

said he enjoyed his visit to Kentucky, but he is not leaning towards the Wildcats or any other school. Along with Kentucky, he mentioned Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Memphis and Kansas. He would like to cut his list down by the end of the summer and then make a decision around the start of school before the season begins. He also reiterated that playing with Willie Warren would be great, but that they are not a package deal.

Same as always nothing has changed and doubt he will make his decision in the fall. The staff just has to hang in there and let things take its course.

[ORUTerry]

from Greg Swaim's forum:

link

Quote from Conley Clarke..

? Thread Started on Jul 11, 2007, 9:22pm ?

"Our family has seen the mess around what happened with Jai Lucas when the process gets drawn out and we don?t want to go down that road.?

That is indeed good news and my thanks to the Clarke family for understanding that...the Lucas thing was a never-ending circus and I respect the Clarke family for understanding that.

By the way, RC is apparently going to narrow his list soon and may announce as early as August and lists Oklahoma, Arkansas, Memphis, Tulsa, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Georgia Tech and Arizona State.

Is ORU no longer on the list or are they the surprise at the end of the journey? You know they "expect a miracle" over there

[ORUTerry]

More Clarke info from the Greg Swaim message boards:

Greg Swaim message board link

[Ting]

If someone has scout.com access, hopefully they can tell us what was said in the Conley Clarke interview stories on July 9th and 10th.

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=2500001

[vcboy2000]

Swaim is hilarious! "My thanks to the Clarke family for understanding that". Who on earth asked him to understand anything that the Clarke's were doing? It's obvious he's trying to repair the breach. Wherever Rotnei goes he will light it up! Swaim is slowly starting to realize...HE WAS WRONG!

The coaches have got to know what is going on with Rotnei. There is no way that they can work with his dad that close everyday and be clueless. There probably has already been a time, or one coming in the near future, where they will find out if ORU is still in the mix.

[ManiacVP]

Well along those lines VC... Scott is still attending camps he's going to.

[dchief42]

I dont know if this means anything, but ORU is 8th on Rotnei's list on rivals.com, I dont think its accurate though because Kansas is at the bottom, but at least we are on the list lol 

http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/ ... _key=51436

[Bogus Smith]

http://gregswaim.proboards38.com/index. ... 1184508676

This is a pretty interesting exchange - especially the scout.com link in the first thread.  It's worth a read.

[Toby]

Everytime that Swaim practically assures that Rotnei will end up at ORU it makes me think otherwise... but then again, why is Sutton seen at camps where low/mid-majors should stand zero chance of landing a recruit? Sutton knows whats he's doing.

I just hope the Clarkes are considering playing time and how many PG's KU and UK have already signed. Things aren't exactly adding up.

[ManiacVP]

This is from Swaim's page:

"This post states that Clarkes dad is an assistant at Oral Roberts University and is recruiting Clarke to that university. First off, is Oral Roberts a D1 school and second, why is Clarke giving interviews to UK and KU about how much he likes those schools and at the same time trying to get him to go to his school?"

This guy calls himself a basketball fan? Why is he even talking on a basketball analyst's forum?

[ORUTerry]

The recruiting of these high school players is an interesting process. After a while, you would think the player and his family would tire of the constant attention and demands. But, it is a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity - so you can't blame him for making the most of the situation. If reports are an indication - it seems that he will make a decision this November instead of stretching the recruiting process out until next Spring.

Rotnei has shown that he is for real and can compete with the best high school players in the nation. It must be gratifying and heady to be pursued by some of the best basketball schools in the nation. It seems unrealistic to even contemplate that ORU has a chance to possibly land a player like this. If he ends up at ORU after being pursued by the likes of Kentucky and Kansas, there will be no doubt that factors beyond basketball (spiritual environment, proximity to home, etc.) have played a part.

The next three months should be interesting.....

[dchief42]

here is an interview from OU insider, don know if it has been posted before, but he talks about Kentucky and a little bit about OU...no ORU though

http://www.ouinsider.com/news/story.php?article=130

[Old Titan]

here is an interview from OU insider, don know if it has been posted before, but he talks about Kentucky and a little bit about OU...no ORU though

http://www.ouinsider.com/news/story.php?article=130

James Hale, the so-called "writer" of all that drivel in "OU Insider", refuses to even acknowledge ORU's existence.  He does the same thing when it comes to baseball, women's basketball, etc.  Probably due to the many OSU ties that ORU has going for it.

Rest assured if Clarke chooses another school, Hale will be among the first to say "well, he wasn't that good and OU never offered him anyway."  And is he signs with ORU, he'll just act like Rotnei  never existed in the first place.

By the way, has anyone else noticed how unprofessional and downright rude Hale is to Geoff Haxton of The Sports Animal during their 10:45 a.m. segment in the mornings?  Never prepared, never anything significant to say, always promotiong OU and himself.  As any form of serious journalist, the guy is simply a tool...

[ORUTerry]

Hale is leaving (left?) the Sports Animal and is taking a job as one of the lead talk show hosts on the OU flagship station in OKC (KOKC?).