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Re: Rotnei Clarke


dchief42

If you were Rotnei Clarke what school would you sign with?  

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  1. 1. If you were Rotnei Clarke what school would you sign with?

    • Kansas
      7
    • Oklahoma
      2
    • Oklahoma State
      2
    • Oral Roberts
      43
    • Tulsa
      3
    • Kentucky
      3
    • Arizona State
      0
    • Other
      9


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Whittling his choices down to 10

by: BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

Verdigris' Rotnei Clarke's busy summer includes revealing top 10 schools he might attend.

THE RECRUITING of Verdigris High School basketball player Rotnei Clarke has a bit more definition.

More than 30 NCAA Division I programs have offered a scholarship to Clarke, who is rated by ESPN.com as the No. 4 point-guard prospect in the nation. Before traveling to Las Vegas for this weekend's Main Event tournament, he formulated a list of 10 possible college destinations.

Clarke's 10, in alphabetical order: Arizona State, Arkansas, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts and the University of Tulsa.

Clarke, last season's state scoring leader with an average of 37.6 points, says he plans to make official visits to Arizona State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky and New Mexico.

Until recently, Clarke says, the recruiting process was fun.

''It was exciting to get calls from all over the country,'' said the 6-foot, 180-pound Clarke, who turned 18 last week. ''Now, I'm getting a little tired of it. More and more colleges have jumped in. It has become stressful.''

As of a few weeks ago, Clarke indicated he would not sign a letter of intent until April 2008. His timetable has changed. He says he expects to sign in November.

''I want to play my senior season without all of the stress,'' Clarke explained. ''I want to focus on trying to win a state title at Verdigris. At some point soon, I'll know where I'm headed. I'll know who really wants me.

''Wherever I go, I want to compete for a starting job right away. I don't expect it to be handed to me. But I would like to get a lot of playing time as a freshman.''

Among schools not included on Clarke's list of 10 are Florida State, Marquette, Missouri State, Nebraska, UNLV, Washington State and West Virginia. Each of those programs had offered a scholarship. Texas Tech, Syracuse and Illinois recently have shown interest.

By the estimation of his father, Conley Clarke, Rotnei has received more than 3,700 pieces of recruiting mail along with countless phone calls and text messages.

''Our phone bill usually is about $140. One month, it was over $400,'' Conley Clarke said. ''We learned a hard lesson about text messaging.''

The Clarkes' phone plan now includes unlimited texting.

In April, Conley Clarke left his position as a Verdigris assistant to become Oral Roberts' director of basketball operations. Rotnei Clarke continues to insist that he will not be influenced by his father's situation.

Last month, Rotnei Clarke made an unofficial visit to Kentucky. New Wildcat coach Billy Gillispie reportedly has aggressively recruited Clarke.

''It was pretty amazing. Incredible facilities and fan base,'' Clarke said. ''You get treated like a king down there. I was there during a father-son camp. Coach Gillispie and I went down to the practice gym, where the camp was, and everybody started cheering and clapping and telling me to come to Kentucky. It was crazy.''

It's been a whirlwind summer for Clarke. He attended the Kobe Bryant camp in Santa Ana, Calif.; the LeBron James camp in Akron, Ohio; and an NBA skills camp in Virginia.

With his Dallas-based Team Texas AAU squad, Clarke played in two Las Vegas tournaments and also traveled to Houston and Atlanta. Next week, he will be in Portland, Ore., for the Nike Global Challenge. Clarke is a member of one of four United States teams. Also in the field are teams from Canada, China, Puerto Rico and Senegal.

''It's been a long summer, but a great summer,'' Conley Clarke said. ''What more could you ask for? It's been a great experience.''

Even when facing the best of national competition, Rotnei Clarke routinely has scored in the 25- to 35-point range during his summer games. In a University of Tulsa camp game with his Verdigris team, he scored 42 points in a victory over Jenks.

When the high school season begins, Clarke resumes his bid to break Oklahoma's career scoring record. With 2,534 career points, he needs 1,086 more to break the Oklahoma high school scoring record held by Ty Harman, who completed his career at Maud in 1989. If Verdigris plays a full schedule of 29 games and Clarke matches last season's 37.6 average, he would break the record.

Clarke became a national commodity on the strength of his shooting, but he says his No. 1 summer priority was to ''prove that I am a real point guard.''

''I can play the other guard position and come off of screens and shoot the ball, but I wanted to show that I have the ability to run a team at the point,'' he said. ''I've worked hard on my passing. I've worked hard on everything.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Schools on Rotnei Clarke?s list

Listed alphabetically:

Arizona State

Arkansas

Gonzaga

Kansas

Kentucky

Memphis

New Mexico

Oklahoma

Oral Roberts

Tulsa

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE CLARKE LIST

More than 30 NCAA Division I basketball programs have offered a scholarship to Verdigris senior guard Rotnei Clarke. Clarke has formulated a list of 10 possible college destinations. They are listed alphabetically:

Arizona State: Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek has made four trips to Oklahoma. On the night that Clarke reached 2,000 points in career scoring, during a road game at Dewey, Sendek was there.

Arkansas: Former Razorback head man Stan Heath was among the first out-of-state coaches to recruit Clarke. Heath's successor, John Pelphrey, has been even more aggressive.

Gonzaga: Zags coach Mark Few traveled to Verdigris twice in April. Few has promised that Clarke would get private instruction from former Gonzaga point guard John Stockton, who was a 10-time NBA All-Star with the Utah Jazz.

Kansas: Jayhawk assistant Tim Jankovich was at the Choctaw High School gym to see Clarke score a state tournament-record total of 60 points against Vian.

Kentucky: Clarke admits to being dazzled during a recent unofficial trip to the Kentucky campus. New Wildcat coach Billy Gillispie reportedly views Clarke as a high-priority recruit.

Memphis: On the day after it was announced that the college 3-point line would be moved to 20 feet, 9 inches from a current distance of 19-9, Memphis coach John Calipari began to persistently recruit Clarke.

New Mexico: Lobos coach Steve Alford did not get involved in the Clarke recruiting process until after the high school season had ended. He has made three trips to Verdigris.

Oklahoma: After watching Verdigris in a December tournament at Shawnee, Sooner coach Jeff Capel intensified his recruiting effort.

Oral Roberts: In April, ORU coach Scott Sutton hired Conley Clarke to be the Golden Eagles' director of basketball operations. Conley is Rotnei's father and had been a Verdigris assistant.

Tulsa: For two years, Golden Hurricane coach Doug Wojcik has been a fixture at the Verdigris gym. Wojcik travels nationally to watch Rotnei Clarke play in summer tournaments.

Official visits: The NCAA allows recruits to make official visits to no more than five schools. Clarke says he plans to visit Arizona State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky and New Mexico.

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At some point soon, I'll know where I'm headed. I'll know who really wants me.  :-D ....At least he listed us on his top 10 lol....good find man

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The way this whole deal is going, the head coach that ultimately lands Rotnei is going to feel the same satisfaction, success, and even superiority as he would winning some sort of championship.  The play for Rotnei Clarke is becoming the biggest game in college basketball . . .

"National championship?  Sure, that would be nice, but my primary goal this year is to sign Rotnei Clarke."

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I thought it would be fun to predict who will be in his top 5 and why after his official visits. Also I indicate why I left the others out.

Rotnei Clarke's Projected Top 5

(listed alphabetically)

Gonzaga: Yes, it is really far from home, but personal instruction from John Stockton sounds really good if he wants to go pro.

Kansas: Historically one of the top 10 programs in College Basketball.

Kentucky: Historically one of the top 10 programs in College Basketball.

Oklahoma: His family has been longtime fans of OU, and it's close to home.

Oral Roberts: Many people believe he is already a verbal commit because his dad is on staff.

Why I left them out:

(listed alphabetically)

Arizona State: Herb is a great coach, but they got in on him too late and Arizona is a lil too far.

Arkansas: Northwest Arkansas is close enough and playing in a packed Bud Walton would be nice, but the program is in too much disarray.

Memphis: Calipari will no doubt have Memphis poised to win a National Title every year, but jumping on board only after the 3 point line was extended is an indication that they still see him as primarily a 1-dimensional player.

New Mexico: The Lobos are after a lot of his Team Texas buddies. It would be great to play with them, but they are a lil late and lil too far.

Tulsa: Conf USA is a good conference, and he would get to stay home close to family, BUT HIS DAD COACHES AT ORAL ROBERTS!!!!!!!  :-D Not gonna happen!

*****Amendment******* For arguments sake you could actually switch out Gonzaga with TU. This list is not necessarily about why he won't go to a certain school, but rather who will be in his top 5. I can see TU making it in over Gonzaga, but still being a non factor as long as is father is working at the corner of 81st and S. Lewis.

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You can tell from this article (and others) that Rotnei (and his family?) are tiring of the whole recruiting process. I am glad he has indicated that he will make a decision by early signing period in November. Wonder if he will speed the process up any and make a verbal commitment in September or October?

I know that ORU is a long shot given the likes of Kansas and Kentucky seeking his commitment, but can you imagine the reaction and stories if he decides to become a Golden Eagle?

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I know that ORU is a long shot given the likes of Kansas and Kentucky seeking his commitment, but can you imagine the reaction and stories if he decides to become a Golden Eagle?

I would love to LIVE in (not just imagine) the reaction and stories if RC decides to become a Golden Eagle!  :-D:-o 

Even if he signs with ORU (or any other school for that matter), anything can happen - from coaches leaving, to little playing time at first, to injuries...and the list goes on).  What RC needs to understand is that the school he chooses meets his personal, professional and spiritual needs when he graduates and as he is in to adulthood.  Basketball is a gift that God has given him and I'm sure that RC is very much aware that he has the opportunity to affect many lives with his (and His) platform and gifts.  Although ORU has a lot to offer in meeting these needs for RC, it will be interesting to see whether he can find the total package at other university campuses.

No doubt, we all hope that he chooses ORU for all of the right reasons, but I'm more hopeful that he and his family will take the time (which I'm sure they will) to see the advantages and disadvantages of ORU.  I think that he does understand that he can MAKE his statement in a smaller environment as he has not been persuaded to move to a large school like Union or Jenks to continue playing at Verdigris (with his uncle).  When it is all said and done, and if he chooses to be a Golden Eagle, it's possible that he could be bigger than Ken, Caleb, Mark, Anthony and Richard.

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yea he could be great player, but to top Caleb, hes got some big shoes to fill...If he does sign with ORU, maybe we can expect some other big names to follow  :-D

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Bingo.... Signing a player like Rotnei Clark would open a lot of doors in the recruiting arena. Who wouldn't want to play with one of the best shooters in the country?

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I felt a little better about ORU's chances to sign Rotnei after reading his Top 10 and his quotes from this article.

For one thing, ORU is in his Top 10.  For so long, we haven't really heard any mention of ORU from Rotnei.  But now we know we are really in the game.  Just seeing ORU listed next to Kansas, Kentucky, etc., is very cool.... like I've entered some bizarro recruiting world.

Rotnei's comment about knowing soon where he wants to go by knowing WHO REALLY WANTS HIM.  Isn't it obvious to him that ORU wants him?  We hired his Dad to run our basketball operations, and apparently someone from ORU's staff is there everytime he plays a game.  If he bases it on who really wants him, I think we win!  It almost sounds like a quote that he will use to explain why he chose ORU... because it became clear that they really wanted me the most.

And also saying that he wants to play a lot as a freshman and challenge for a starting position right away.  That probably won't happen at Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, etc.  It again sounds like a quote that he will use to explain why he chose ORU... because he believes he will make a significant contribution right off the bat.

And deciding to sign in November, which would also be very beneficial for ORU to be able to take advantage of other quality prospects who move ORU up on their lists because of the Rotnei Clarke commitment.

As many of us have, I have gone back and forth in my opinion of where Rotnei will go, but my optimism is on the upswing after finally hearing Rotnei's own words.  I may be reading too much into it, but now that we're in the Top 10, I believe we really are in the game...

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those are some really good points man, but when we hear anything we usually look into it way too much lol, but he really could have ment that.  & that is exactly what he will say for the reason of his choince, if he does sign with ORU...

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This is a prime example of why I feel college head coaches - in any sport - deserve whatever they are paid.

Imagine your professional reputation - and survival -  resting on the whims of 17-year-old prospects, or their "veteran" 20-year-old teammates.

And don't even get me started on the recruits who wind up making their decisions based on their  GIRLFRIEND!

And imagine having to deal with that kind of sturm und drang every minute of the season, year after year.

It's bad enough lying awake at night as a coach wondering how you're going to compete against Big XII and Southeastern Conference competition on the field or court.

Now, imagine losing sleep over who your #1 recruit is texting - and being texted by - at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.

How would you ever feel like you're doing enough?  :|

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Guest Blevins

Now, imagine losing sleep over who your #1 recruit is texting - and being texted by - at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.

How would you ever feel like you're doing enough?  :|

Yeah, and imagine all the texts recruits get at 2 a.m. in the afternoon!!!

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Interesting thread on OUInsider.com

OUInsider.com Link

The thread is dealing with Chris Babb & Willie Warren and OU's pursuit of these recruits - as well as Rotnei Clarke. Here is the last post:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I recently got to spend some time around Team Texas. Interesting to say the least. I picked up a bunch of stuff without asking any questions so nobody knew I go to OU. Who knows whats going to happen but here are some tidbits that come from different people around the team (parents, coaches, players)--

- Willie Warren not going to sign early

- Willie Warren will go to whoever he visits last, his favorite is always the last coach to talk to.

- In the end, the imediate playing time at Kansas will be hard to pass up. Will probably officially visit KU during Late Nite.

- Warren is more likely to be a package deal with Chris rather than Clarke. Warren is starting to go out on his own in his recruiting.

- 90% Clarke to ORU

- Clarke wont leave the state of Oklahoma

- When all is said and done Rotnei will go to ORU, 60/40

- ORU will give Clarke more shots and more PT than any school on his list

- Steptoe says Conley has told him Rotnei to ORU but wants to hype it up

- Warren wants to and will only consider schools that let him play PG in college

- Babb would rather play at a mid major because he will get more pt early and develope his game rather than sit for 2 or 3 years at a major that offered him to get Warren.

Thats pretty much all I picked up relevant to OU. Team Texas is a pretty tight knit group and I think as time goes on we will see Warren set out on his own. Either OU or KU or somebody that gets in late, if he signs late.

I think in the end Rotnei will say, "which coaching staff has my bests interest at hand and who will give me the most shots,,,,,,,,,,my dad." Babb may end up there as well, but if Warren goes to OU we might have a shot.

I think we will offer Babb if we think it will help us get Warren, otherwise I think we leave him alone because word is we are in on better SG/SFs. Warren's recruitment will go down just like Jai Lucas; 4 or 5 times stick with him the whole time and in May he goes with who ever has the best season.

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we are in on better SG/SF?...wow Willie Warren is a really good athlete, I cant wait to see what happens....idk if anyones seen this Willie Warren dunk, but here it is

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Look, I'm all for just moving Team Texas about 250 miles north next year.  That would work out great, and put an end to all the speculation.

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Yeah, and imagine all the texts recruits get at 2 a.m. in the afternoon!!!

What - you teaching Creative Writing now?

I also say "women's volleyball" and "women's softball", plus I refer to a diminutive friend of mine as a "little shrimp".

Happy?!?  :roll:

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