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HWSNBN leaving arkansas?


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I remember in what seems like an eternity ago watching the late Sunday night show where the then-high-school-senior Rotnei Clarke made his announcement that he was going to Arkansas. I felt fairly slighted at the time - now I feel like it was A BLESSING FROM THE LORD! That whole Team Clarke entourage is just a distraction to what's taking place on the court wherever Rotnei is. It's a soap opera. Whoever gets him needs to go into the relationship with their eyes wide open.

Could it be possible that no one would want him? I wonder how Rotnei feels about all that swirls around him all the time.

(I was preparing this earlier, before OT posted, and he made several of the same points.)

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It really is a sad situation. The kid would have been much better served to pick a place and stay there. Quite a contrast to how Keaton Page handled things. Page will graduate as a Cowboy and will be well thought of as an OSU basketball alumni. Clarke will be viewed as a vagabond/drifter. It has to be a bit tough on him given how his family has treated his 'career'. I hope he does not live a life of regret or 'what could/should have been'.

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I'm surprised Anderson and the athletic department at Arkansas even tried this hard to keep Team Clarke. What, Arkansas can't go 7-9 in the SEC without Rotnei? Somebody should have bought them bus tickets to leave Fayetteville and suggest that they not be hit by the closing door on the way out. Who puts up with this much nonsense from a college kid?...It's time for UofA basketball to start over anyway.

Seems like they never got enough of the recruiting process from about 4-5 years ago. That 15 minutes is up.

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Arkansas was obviously the wrong choice. They had a terrible coach, with a terrible system and a struggling program. For all the diva problems Team Clarke brings to the table, you have to admit, if the Razorbacks actually won, there probably wouldn't have been AS MANY problems. Winning = more media coverage = a narrative that is capable of resembling a "Jimmer-type" story.

The kid made a HUGE mistake in not going with a program with a long-standing coach. He'll now probably end up with a KU or a Gonzaga, have a decent year and end up in Europe or the D-League. He has talent but sometimes the decisions you make have irreversible consequences.

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Heck Ark coach let him do whatever he wanted and got a ton of shots and started from day 1 . Heck when he got in trouble he got a 1 game suspension. Some teams he would have been kicked off. He doesn't fit into what Anderson does so can't blame him for leaving and he will probably have a decent career overseas. Might do him some good to get away from the family.

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Sounds like the Clarke family are a bunch of real tools.....very sad that schools cater to that kind of behavior....it is a blessing that ORU didn't get him.....was RR involved in that recruiting mess when he was President?....if so, those must have been some fun meetings.... :razz:

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when all else fails, throw the uncle under the bus to make yourself look better...conley clarke may be the biggest tool in a family of Craftsman.

Rotnei Clarke saga ends with transfer

Rotnei Clarke has admittedly been indecisive about his playing career at Arkansas and his on-again/off-again desire to transfer, but all too often voices other than his own have been speaking on his behalf about his plans.

In an interview with ESPN.com on Tuesday, Clarke said he plans on sifting through the possible destinations over the next two days in order to make an informed decision about his next two seasons -- a redshirt year sitting out and his final season as a senior.

Once he transfers to a new locale outside of Arkansas and the SEC, Clarke is banking on being out of the spotlight, improving his overall game and coming back onto the scene in 2012-13 without the drama that surrounded his exit from Fayetteville.

...

Rotnei confirmed that he did consider leaving after his sophomore season. He said he later found out that his uncle was speaking on his behalf. His father Conley, Kelly's brother, said he was also unaware that his brother was making exploratory calls. Both Rotnei and his dad said Kelley wasn't authorized to speak on his son's behalf.

Nevertheless, Kelley made an attempt to see whether Nebraska was interested in Clarke transferring last January when he called his former boss, Doc Sadler. Kelly and Sadler had worked together at Westark JC in Arkansas. Sadler had recruited Rotnei to the Cornhuskers and once he wasn't going to get Rotnei, a source close to Sadler said he steered him toward Arkansas.

Rotnei Clarke said he was aware that calls were made in January and he quickly quashed the transfer talk. Conley Clarke said there had been a difference of opinion on how Rotnei's situation should be handled within the family.

Andy Katz Blog

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Heck Ark coach let him do whatever he wanted and got a ton of shots and started from day 1 . Heck when he got in trouble he got a 1 game suspension. Some teams he would have been kicked off. He doesn't fit into what Anderson does so can't blame him for leaving and he will probably have a decent career overseas. Might do him some good to get away from the family.

100% agree. Pelphrey had a great class coming in on paper, yet they never panned out and I think all five guys are no longer on the team.

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What a circus.... Who in the world would want this situation? And what school has an extra scholarship to give in late June - and wants to tie up 2 years to get 1 year of playing time? For a player that has a disfunctional family and has shown no loyalty. I am sure any returning / upper class player would be thrilled to have a teammate like that.

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A lot of schools may not be in the situation ORU is in with more players than scholarships. I know OU is still looking for players (I don't think they take Clarke) and I'm sure other players have guys who may not qualify or flunk out of summer school and can take a flier on a guy.

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A lot of schools may not be in the situation ORU is in with more players than scholarships. I know OU is still looking for players (I don't think they take Clarke) and I'm sure other players have guys who may not qualify or flunk out of summer school and can take a flier on a guy.

You would have to be pretty desperate to take a kid (and his family) like Rotnie Clarke. I know he is great shooter and 2nd team all-SEC, but the baggage is pretty substantial. I think he is going to find that his options are limited. We shall see.

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"His family moved to nearby Springdale, Ark., when Clarke decided on the Razorbacks and his father said there are no plans for the family to uproot and move again next season. He said his wife has signed a contract to teach next school year, but he wouldn't rule out moving for Clarke's final season of playing."

if he wanted to help his son out the guy would let everyone know he had no intention of moving to where his son was transferring. he is the ultimate stage parent / horrible little league dad.

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The Gonzaga people think Rotnei would be a nice addition - except there is not an open scholarship. It seems that Stcokton's son took the last one and they are saying that Katz is reporting that Few has turned Team Rotnei down.

Link to Gonzaga message board

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Isn't the exact way Rotnei gets on a team is the same way Chris Angsomwine left ours. Someone at the end of the bench somewhere will "transfer" and a scholarship will open up. Happens all the time at every program. I still don't think he'll go to one of the Six power conferences, but probably a second tier-mid major conference is a likely destination.

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Isn't the exact way Rotnei gets on a team is the same way Chris Angsomwine left ours. Someone at the end of the bench somewhere will "transfer" and a scholarship will open up. Happens all the time at every program. I still don't think he'll go to one of the Six power conferences, but probably a second tier-mid major conference is a likely destination.

Which begs the queston: Why leave a school like Arkansas for a mid-major school? I can understand it if you chose that way to begin with - probably makes the most sense. But why leave Arkansas in your senior season? It is so mercenary.

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Which begs the queston: Why leave a school like Arkansas for a mid-major school? I can understand it if you chose that way to begin with - probably makes the most sense. But why leave Arkansas in your senior season? It is so mercenary.

I agree, Anderson is a good coach, I think he will do well at Arkansas with time, mabe Rotnei just saw some of the other players leaving around him and felt the team would not do as well this year

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It shows his desire to be a star and want the spotlight. He scored 15 pts a game (last year) in the SEC. Thats not bad at all for a career. (Of course people say he should average more, but still). He wants to be the guy, wants to get shots up, wants to score 30 a game like he did in high school (not gonna happen). Most guys would realize they are in a good situation and want to help the team not just themselves. Look at keaton page at OSU, a nice player but not near the player he was in high school but he gives 110% every game plus does whatever is necessary. I also compare Clarke to Cade Davis at OU in terms of skill sets; yet Davis was a do everything guy plus the spot up jump shooter and total team player. That goes a lot further than just a guy that wants to get his.

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