Re: Rotnei Clarke

[Dr. Cornelius]

If you're looking for the religious tangent its been moved to General Discussion.

[djenkins13]

Terry,

On the Kentucky thing; just that there is no way Clarke ends up at ORU and heck he may not but they can be a little overbearing on things.

Roster should settle out sometime this week. I didn't know a thing about the new guy.

You have to remember that Crutchfield started out west so he has some contacts out there.

The juco guys i had heard about are for the next year.

[ORUTerry]

According to the Kentucky message boards, several of the posters have spoken to Rotnei Clarke and both of his parents (and his dog?) and they are convinced he is headed to the Blue Grass state to play for the Wildcats. They are certainly dismissive of ORU - though several of them seem to think that Clarke has narrowed it down to ORU and Kentucky. Then again, the OU people will tell you he is headed for the Sooners. Who knows what to believe?

[MadAdder]

Well on that note (I wasn't going to say anything...) I just got off the phone with Rotnei. He assured me that he hasn't made up his mind, but it's DEFINITELY down to the following options -

1. Trekking out to the desert in Tunisia to train to become a Jedi.

2. Signing a professional contract to play Rugby for the New Zealand All Blacks.

3. Signing a professional contract to play soccer for Turkish powerhouse club Fenerbah?e SK.

4. Accepting a promotion to Whopper Flopper (a full-time position which will pay him $.50 an hour above the federal minimum wage with a $25 signing bonus) at an unnamed fast food restaurant where he works part-time.

5. Coaching basketball in an 8-year-old league in Oregon where he hopes to inspire a movie of the week.

So as you can CLEARLY see, he won't be playing at Kentucky, so FEAR NOT Golden Eagle fans!

And those people who said they talked to his dog are lying. He doesn't have a dog.

[ORUTerry]

Here is a link to a recent article stating that Rotnei Clarke will be attending the "Big Blue Madness" event (opening of practice) at Kentucky. Notice the picture of Conley Clarke and his t-shirt....

Link

The article repeats the comment that he wants to get the recruiting process over soon. The implication is that his decision will be made before the signing period in November.

[Bogus Smith]

Somehow I don't think that specific picture makes it on the website if you were to get a full, unobstructed view of the t-shirt...what do you think? 

[dchief42]

or they might photoshop it to say Kentucky, so people would assume he had already commited to Kentucky LOL 

[ORUTerry]

Update on Clarke from a FoxSports blog:

Link

RANDOM NOTES

There?s a reason why Verdigris High (Okla.) guard Rotnei Clarke, one of the top rising high school seniors, may not have looked like the nation?s best shooter this past month. He has an impediment in his rotator cuff and an orthopedic surgeon told him to shut things down for a month. Clarke, who this writer believes is the best long-range shooter to come along since J.J. Redick, is rehabbing three times a week ? but won?t need surgery. He?ll likely cut his list to four in the coming weeks. Look for Kentucky and Oklahoma to make the cut.

[Bogus Smith]

That would be WAY COOL to have Rotnei sign with ORU and, for four years, state in the media guide that "...Clarke signed with ORU over hundreds of offers from colleges and universities, including Oklahoma and Kentucky."  That would make me smile! 

[vcboy2000]

This is RC's current list per the Tulsa World article from last month:

Schools on Rotnei Clarke?s list

Listed alphabetically:

Arizona State

Arkansas

Gonzaga

Kansas

Kentucky

Memphis

New Mexico

Oklahoma

Oral Roberts

Tulsa

...........................................

Now if he is going to narrow his list down to 4, who do you all think will make the cut?  My list is as follows:

Kentucky

Oklahoma

Oral Roberts

Tulsa or Gonzaga (Could really go either way)

[ORUTerry]

Rotnei is quoted as saying he will visit Kansas and Kentucky and possibly Oklahoma in this article (dated 8-9-2007) from the Topeka Capital-Journal:

Link

excerpt:

"Lots of schools are trying to get involved with me. Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tulsa, Arkansas, New Mexico, Memphis and Gonzaga are coming on very strong," Clarke said. "From this list of schools, some are recruiting me harder than some others. I just need to trim my list, take some visits and then decide."

ORU is not mentioned....

[ORUTerry]

From an article/interview by Shay Wildeboor - a Kansas (Rivals) recruiting guru in the Lawrence Journal World News (8-9-2009) :

Link

rishjhawk1: what are your thoughts on rotnei clarke and willie warren? are they still considering the whole package deal situation? if so, what do you think are our chances if they pick the same school? what are our chances with each one if they choose to part ways?

Shay Wildeboor: irishjhawk1, I have not heard much about Willie Warren and Rotnei Clarke being a package deal lately. Early on, Warren said he was going to follow Clarke, but I don't see that being the case. In fact, I would be somewhat surprised if Clarke didn't end up at Oral Roberts. His father, Conley Clarke, was recently added to the staff, so most believe Rotnei is headed to Oral Roberts. Rotnei and his father have told me that a visit to KU, UK and Gonzaga will take place. But when all is said and done, it looks like Clarke will follow his father. As far as Warren goes, KU is very much an option. OU is still the team to beat, but mom and son are very high on Kansas. Mom is going to have a say in this decision, and she really likes KU, which could end up being good news for KU fans. With that being said, OU is still on top.

[ORUTerry]

Story from the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World News:

Link

Recruiting targets net honors

By Gary Bedore

August 11, 2007

Bob Gibbons, the granddaddy of basketball recruiting analysts, included some Kansas University targets in his ?cream of the crop? list compiled after evaluating various summertime AAU tournaments.

Greg Monroe, 6-foot-10 from Cox High in Harvey, La., was one of five players named second-team all-Gibbons, while Willie Warren, 6-3 from Fort Worth, Texas, was third team and Xavier Henry, 6-6 from Putnam City, Okla., fourth team.

Gibbons? first team consisted of Samardo Samuels, who has committed to Louisville, Delvon Roe (Michigan State), Scotty Hopson (Mississippi State), Jrue Holiday (UCLA) and Brandon Jennings (Arizona).

Jennings, a 6-1 point guard from Los Angeles, was tapped senior player of the summer, and Derrick Favors, 6-9 from Atlanta, junior player of the summer. Favors includes KU on his early list of prospective schools.

Rotnei Clarke, 6-foot from Claremore, Okla., who is considering KU and others, was tapped one of the top four backcourt shooters. Warren, also considering KU, was cited in the ?best scorers? category.

Gibbons? entire column is available on ESPN.com.

[Bogus Smith]

Rotnei Clark will be on Channel 8's "You Make The Call" tonight at 10:35 in case anyone is interested in seeing and hearing him.

[orumom]

It was good to hear ORU first on his short list, and then Rotnei's discussion of preferring a school where he could make an immediate impact!  Early signing in November and we can all quit second guessing his decision.

[Dr. Cornelius]

It was good to hear ORU first on his short list, and then Rotnei's discussion of preferring a school where he could make an immediate impact!  Early signing in November and we can all quit second guessing his decision.

Wish I could have seen this. Maybe Haxton has a tape...

[ORUTerry]

Link

August 23, 2007

Jerry Meyer

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst

Four-star prospect Rotnei Clarke is a valued commodity because of his savvy and ability to shoot the basketball. One school with a history of players like Clarke has secured an official visit, and the 6-foot, 175-pound point guard from Claremore (Okla.) Verdigris High School is deciding who else to visit among six other schools.

On September 8 Clarke will travel to Spokane, Wash., to visit West Coast Conference power Gonzaga.

"Gonzaga is just one school that I felt I needed to visit because of what they have done with guards like me," said Clarke. "It doesn't mean they are my leader or anything, but they are definitely a school that I need to look at."

Clarke named six schools that are in the mix for the other four official visits. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Memphis, Kentucky and Arizona State made the cut.

And there is one other school who isn't in the running for an official visit but is very much in the running for ultimately landing Clarke- Oral Roberts, where his dad is on the coaching staff.

"Oral Roberts is an option for me," he said. "It's an option knowing the coaching staff and considering what Coach Sutton has done there. I also like the Christian atmosphere on the campus."

Clarke is the No. 83 ranked prospect in the Rivals150.

Rotnei Clarke scouting report:

Clarke is nothing short of being a phenomenal shooter. He has extremely deep range and can hit the long ball on the move. A very cerebral player, he knows how to use screens and on defense he makes up for his shortcomings athletically. More than just a shooter, Clarke handles the ball well and can score off floaters when driving to his right.

[ORUTerry]

From GregSwaim.com:  Link

The poster says that this is from a Kentucky bog, but does not reference or link to it.

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Here is a sentence you never thought you would read?..Kentucky is battling Oral Roberts University for one of its top recruiting targets. Now that certainly is odd. Rotnei Clarke, the sharpshooting 3 point marksman who is one of the two best long-distance shooters in America is trying to make his decision as to where he will attend college and it looks as if Oral Roberts (home of former tele-evangelists and the statute above) is in the race. ORU has recently employed Clarke's dad in the athletics department and many have speculated that this will mean Clarke will be headed to Tulsa to play for his dad. But is this really true?

We had Rotnei Clarke on our radio show last week and his comments were interesting (and unfortunately were not taped which is why we havent had the interview on here). He said that at this point he only has two visits scheduled, Kentucky and Gonzaga. I asked him to name his top schools and he mentioned, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas. Fair enough. So then I asked what happened to Kansas (who had been towards the top before) and he mentioned that they had seemingly backed off. So I asked about Oral Roberts and he said that while his dad being there was nice, it would have no impact on where he went to school and he hinted strongly that they werent a solid contender for his services.

So how do we square this information with the so-called "buzz" around the national recruiting circles that Rotnei is ORU bound. There are two schools of thought. One, Rotnei is simply not letting on to others just how serious he is about ORU and that will be his ultimate destination no matter what he says publically. For the record, I dont buy this one bit. The second is that "buzz" around national recruiting analysts is very often wrong and is not a good substitute for what one gets from talking directly to the kid. Last year, every time we would report that Patrick Patterson had Kentucky as a co-leader, someone would write that people "in the know" knew that it had long ago been decided that it was either Duke or Florida and that Kentucky was out. But where did they get that info? Did Patrick say it? Obviously not?..if you spoke to Patrick or his mother often, you knew that Duke had no shot whatsoever. The "buzz" was different, but the kids comments showed his true feelings.

Which brings me back to Rotnei. For the past three years, I have interviewed kids and tried to get a notion of where they would go to school. Sometimes kids are impossible to read. I never could get a true handle on where JJ Hickson would go to school and thus whatever decision he would have made would have not surprised me in the least. Sometimes you get a notion not where of a kid is going but where he isnt. It was obvious to Rob and I from the get go that the day Brandon Wright went to ACC country, Kentucky would not get him?..the tone in his voice was just different. And then sometimes you know where a kid is going no matter what he says. AJ Stewart was a Cat from the moment that UK wanted him?.and no matter how hard he might try to convince otherwise, it was obvious.

With Rotnei, I cannot firmly say that he will be coming to Kentucky or that he wont go to Gonzaga, Oklahoma, etc. However the excitement is simply not there when talking about ORU. He never mentions them as part of any list he gives me, he always talks about winning "national championships" and his criteria for what he is looking for in a school contains none of the trademarks of an Oral Roberts type program. Could he change his mind and end up in the end at ORU due to the family connection? Sure. Could he be pulling a fast one on everybody and secretly harboring a wish to go to ORU and validate the national "buzz?" Well maybe?.but if so, he is a better actor than Jesus Shuttleworth. Maybe the "buzz" knows something that we dont?.but for now, color me skeptical.