Re: Rotnei Clarke

[vcboy2000]

I also saw him in Chapel. He was with his dad, another ORU staff member, Richard Roberts' youngest daughter (who is a freshman this year at ORU), and another of their friends. Several students were giving him high fives and daps on the way out. I hope he comes around more often. I really think he would fit well within the ORU community.

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Oh, and one other thing I forgot to mention. I know there has been some speculation as to his actual height. He is definately 6ft.

[OKC Eagle]

  This seems like very good news.  It would be even better if he liked it and comes back.  Isn't he supposed to be in school right now?  Can he miss high school to visit a college without it being an official visit?  Maybe he gets a parental exception.

What are "daps"?  I hope that's nothing like a wedgie.

Do you think he will go to a TU chapel service also?

[tmh8286]

What are "daps"?  I hope that's nothing like a wedgie.

:-D

[OKC Eagle]

When Rotnei is being interviewed in Kentucky, he probably mentions that playing for a national championship is important to him, because that's what UK fans want to hear.

When he is in Tulsa, he talks about staying close to home/family, and the importance of his beliefs, because that is what the ORU fan base  wants to hear.

Think about any big decision you have made in your life.  When you have several good options, you pray, you look at it from many angles, and until you make your final decision, you cover all your bases to keep your options open.

I don't think Rotnei has made up his mind yet, and he would regret it if he did not go on these visits so he can really see the big picture on all his options.  By taking advantage of the recruiting process, he can be at peace that when he makes his final decision, he had all the information that he needed, and therefore he made the best choice for him.

When he is in Kentucky, he may choose not to mention ORU in his list, because if he does, then the next follow-up question will be probing the situation with his father being employed at ORU, and he is probably sick of talking about it.

If he does end up committing to ORU, the fact that he checked out all his other options will only strengthen his confidence in his commitment.

I do wonder why he isn't taking a visit to OU though, since we have heard that OU is high on his list.

I like your take better than mine.  I think if I was in his shoes, I would certainly want to make the most of my official visits, whether I had any intention of going to the school or not.

If we end up with Rotnei, the more great things he says about all the other schools would make it that much more impressive that he chose ORU over them.

[vcboy2000]

Hmm. How to explain 'daps'?  Everybody does them. Daps are what they were called when I was growing up. It's like a hand shake, only less formal. The two parties slap palms and slide their hands toward the fingers. The fingers grip together before the hands seperate to finalize the "dap". Todays culture has added a finger snap after the "dap" has dis-engaged or a meeting at the chest while the 'dap' is still enganged.

Lol... I tried.   

[ManiacVP]

Wow... well done.

[OKC Eagle]

That seems a lot better than a wedgie.  If Rotnei really likes the place, maybe you can use him as one of your off-wingers for intramural basketball and the three on three tournament (if they still do that).

[ORU_Ed]

Eagle, You'd hate what they did to alumni with regards to intramurals.

I don't know about off-wingers/alumni players for wings, but they did NUKE alumni teams.

"someone" didn't like getting stomped by an alumni team all year and got some things changed.  Really stunk.

We had an alumni "A" league volleyball team with IsBig, me, and a few other grads and we either won or got 2nd for 4 yrs.  Now we can't.  We can have a team, but the games the wings play us don't count and we can't play when the playoffs come around.

Weird deal.

[ORUIsbig]

He was with his dad, another ORU staff member, Richard Roberts' youngest daughter (who is a freshman this year at ORU), and another of their friends.

I hope this is not true.  If they have  a fall out, that could get messy. 

[vcboy2000]

Dude, relax. Nobody said they were dating or even hang out all the time. She was just sitting beside him and they were enjoying the service.

[ManiacVP]

She's actually a soph. And im guessing they're just friends considering the family connections.

[OKC Eagle]

This article (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... 1/70828025) about another 2008 guard visiting Kentucky says that Kentucky has 6 guards on the roster and commitments from guards in the next 3 recruiting seasons.  I would sure hate to see Rotnei have to share time with that many other highly recruited guards.  I think TMH's signature says it best.  I sure hope Rotnei wants to be a Rock Star. 

There also has to be weight given to the fact that Rotnei could single handedly take ORU to the next level.  Now that's a legacy.

[ORUTerry]

The Clarkes and the Roberts go back a long way from I have heard......

[ORU Eli]

Roberts' daughters are foxy. Go Rotnei!

(sorry...had to fill in for voice...)

[tmh8286]

Speaking of voice, where's he gone to?  He hasn't posted in over a month.  He better not try that excuse, trying to make a living, because I give no quarter to those throwing that out. 

Come on, voice, TALK TO US! 

[ashVID]

Speaking of voice, where's he gone to?  He hasn't posted in over a month.  He better not try that excuse, trying to make a living, because I give no quarter to those throwing that out. 

Come on, voice, TALK TO US! 

He might have been spotted in some Memphis gear and had to go into hiding to retain his "fan" status! J/K...  He has been quiet for a while, which is no fun.

ash  =o)

[Bogus Smith]

The only big news that came from Rotnei's interview on the Sports Animal was that OSU has started recruiting him heavily (a little sibling rivalry).  I wonder what made the light bulb go on in Stillwater to make them think Rotnei could help them??

[ORU Eli]

Wow...never heard Rotnei do an interview before. He's definitely an articulate, intelligent kid who comes off incredibly genuine and not at all full of himself or his accomplishments. Some things they talked about...

*He has five official visits. He might or might not take the other three but he's going to Gonzaga next week and Kentucky for midnight madness on October 12.

*Oklahoma State HAS begun officially recruiting him and he's even met with Sean Sutton and staff. He's got a friend (I forgot the name) that signed with OSU that he played with in middle school who he thinks it would be fun to play with again. And after being asked, said that he thinks Gallagher-Iba is a great place to play basketball.

*Other schools that they discussed agressively recruiting him are Memphis and Tulsa. He did basically rule out KU and New Mexico by saying that they've been knocked down the list.

*They talked about the elimination of text messenging in recruiting and he says he still gets two calls a week from every school that is calling him...seems like he is really getting ready to look at the crucial information and looking forward to making a decision. Rotnei all but guarranteed he will be signed, sealed, and delivered to a college in November. He mentioned the process being stressful several times but did mention he still views it as a blessing by God to be put in that position.

*I was impressed when they asked him who he imagined playing for growing up and he didn't give them much ammo to use back at him to try to 'trap' him into showing a school favoritism.  He just told them he liked Coach Roy Williams and rooted for who he coached...he said now he just wants to play for the school where he will feel like in time he should be.

*He mentioned the two most ridiculous rumors he heard about himself was that Bill Self never recruited him to Kansas and the fact that he was thinking about transferring to Jenks/Union/Victory for his senior year.