#15 Rotnei Clarke Position

#15 Rotnei Clarke

Position:	Guard
Height:	6'0"
Weight:	184
Year:	Junior
Hometown:	Verdigris, Okla.
High School:	Verdigris HS
Experience:	2 Letters

Rotnei Clarke

Rotnei Clarke

2009-10 Preview: A 30-game starter as a true freshman last year, Clarke is once again expected to be the starter at shooting guard. He was the top freshman three-point shooter in the nation last year, hitting 39.3 percent (83-211) to rank No. 40 overall, and he should get plenty of attempts again this year. 2008-09: Clarke and Michael Washington were the only players to start all 30 games. Clarke played 31.5 minutes a game, and averaged 12.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He shot 40.8 percent overall (120-294), 39.3 percent on threes (83-211) and 93.5 percent at the line (43-46). His scoring average ties Ronnie Brewer (2004) for the ninth-best by an Arkansas freshman over the last 21 years (1989-2009). He made four or more three-pointers eight times in the final 10 games. His 83 made threes are the most for a Razorback since Jannero Pargo was 95-of-220 (.432) in 2002 and his .393 percentage the best since Jonathon Modica led the team with a .429 (30-70) in 2005. His .393 percent was also the best in the nation for a freshman and ranked No. 40 overall. With three more free throws attempted and made, he would have tied Rickey Medlock's single-season school percentage record (.939, 62-66 in 1975). Clarke averaged 12.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in SEC play while shooting 41.6 percent from the floor (67-161), 38 percent on threes (46-121) and 89.5 percent at the line (17-19). His 46 threes in SEC play are the fourth-most in school history. He averaged 10.1 points in eight games against NCAA Tournament teams. After averaging 9.3 points in January, he averaged 12.1 in February and a team-high 16.5 in March. He shot .402 on threes at home (49-122) and .397 on threes on the road (29-73). He led the team in scoring six times and in assists once. He scored in double figures 22 times. In his debut, he scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 on threes, in the win over Southeastern Louisiana (11/14). His three from the right corner with 28 seconds remaining pulled Arkansas within 76-75 and helped the Hogs get the game to overtime. He scored a game-high 19 points and had a team-high three steals at Missouri State (11/22). His three from the right corner with 47 seconds left pulled Arkansas within 77-76 at South Alabama (11/26), setting the stage for Stefan Welsh's game-winner. Clarke had 12 points in the game, all on threes, and three assists. Against Texas Southern (12/3), he was 4-of-9 shooting, all threes, and 4-of-4 at the line for 16 points. Against North Carolina Central (12/10), he made 6-of-9 shots, including 3-of-5 threes, and scored 15 points. He made 5-of-10 shots, including 4-of-9 threes, and had 14 points against Austin Peay (12/17). His three from the left wing with 1:49 left extended a 77-73 lead to 80-73. In the win over No. 4 Oklahoma (12/30), he was 3-of-4 from the field, all threes, and 6-of-7 at the line for 15 points. Clarke had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals against North Texas (1/3). He made 5-of-10 shots for 14 points with three rebounds against Mississippi State (1/10). Against Alabama (1/29), he was 9-of-13 overall and 6-of-10 on threes for a game-high 26 points with two rebounds, two assists, a steal and no turnovers. At LSU (1/31), after going 0-of-2 in the first half, he was 5-of-8 in the second for all 12 of his points to go with four rebounds. Clarke made 4-of-10 threes for 12 points at Mississippi State (2/7). He was 5-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-10 on threes for the second straight game, and had 14 points with four steals at Auburn (2/11). He was 3-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-8 on threes, against Kentucky (2/14), but finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists. Clarke was 6-of-8 shooting overall, including 4-of-6 on threes, and had team-high tying totals of 17 points and two steals against LSU (2/18). At South Carolina (2/21), he was 5-of-12 overall, but 4-of-8 on threes, finishing with 14 points in 42 minutes. At Alabama (2/25), he was 6-of-12 overall and 4-of-9 on threes, finishing with 16 points, two rebounds and two assists. He was 6-of-15 overall and 4-of-11 on threes for a team-high 19 points against Georgia (3/1). He also had two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Against Ole Miss (3/4), he was 6-of-13 overall and 5-of-12 on threes to finish with a team-high 19 points. At Vanderbilt (3/8), he was 4-of-7 on threes, finishing with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals. He made three threes and had 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting against Florida (3/12). In High School: He led Verdigris High School to its first Class 3A state championship and in the process became his state's all-time leading scorer for Coach Kelly Clarke. He averaged 40.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 3.4 steals as a senior while making 159 thee-pointers. He finished his career with 3,758 points to outdistance Pawnee's Keiton Page (3,709) and break Ty Harman's 1989 state record of 3,639 points. He broke the record with 37 points in a 70-51 area final victory over Adair. He had 35 in the 62-51 championship game win over Tahlequah Sequoyah. He was 12-of-24 overall, including 5-of-10 on threes, and 6-of-7 at the line. He shot 47.1 percent for his career on threes (498-1,057), 60 percent on twos (689-1,146), 53.9 percent from the field overall (1,187-2,203) and 88.7 percent at the line (885-998). He averaged 20.1 points. 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.7 steals as a freshman; 34.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 steals as a sophomore; and 37.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 4.0 steals as a junior. His career averages were 33.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.4 steals. Clarke made 107-of-225 threes (.476) and 166-of-304 shots overall (.546) as a freshman, 116-of-271 threes (.428) and 302-of-603 overall (.501) as a sophomore, 118-of-233 threes (.506) and 317-of-567 overall (.559) as a junior, and 159-of-340 on threes (.545) and 404-of-741 overall (.545) as a senior. At the line, he was 125-of-134 as a freshman (.933), 237-of-268 as a sophomore (.884), 263-of-298 as a junior (.883) and 260-of-298 as a senior (.872). He scored 30 or more points 72 times, 40 or more 34 times, 50 or more seven times and 60 or more twice. His teams were 24-4 his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons with losses to the eventual state champion in the semifinals of the playoffs each season. His senior club finished 27-3 with a state championship for a combined record of 99-15. He was named first-team all-state (all classes), the Tulsa World's Metro Boys Player of the Year for the third time and shared the Tulsa World's State Player of the Year award with Page. The summer prior to his senior season, he was invited to and participated in Kobe Bryant's camp in California, the LeBron James Camp in Ohio and the NBA Players Association Camp in Virginia. He was rated the No. 21 shooting guard in the nation by Scout and No. 25 by Rivals. The four-star recruit had more than 30 offers, including Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis, Oklahoma and Gonzaga. Personal: Born July 20, 1989, he is the son of Conley and Christine Clarke. He is majoring in kinesiology. In high school, he maintained a 4.0 grade point average, and was a member of the honor society and the student council.