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Clarke is only 6-1, and that's good Thursday, Mar 6, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - The Razorbacks percolate even in a hospital waiting room, and after news about the patient petered out one of the young men asked about the Arkansas signee who scored 60-something in one game. He's from Oklahoma, I contributed, the only nugget gleaned from a media room visit the previous day in Fayetteville. Dudley Dawson had been in Skiatook, Okla., on Feb. 29 to see Rotnei Clarke of Verdigris score 37 points and become the Sooner state's all-time leading scorer. I couldn't recall the site of the game, but Skiatook is the dateline on Dawson's story in Hawgs Illustrated. Supposedly an incredible shooter, Clarke is coming to Arkansas and anybody who has watched the Razorbacks is painfully aware that he could be of immediate assistance. At Oxford, Arkansas missed seven straight 3-pointers in the first half Tuesday night and fell behind by 11. When Dawson arrived at the media table in Oxford, the first question was about Clarke's height. Six-foot-one, Dawson said, and that's good news for Arkansas fans. A serious shooter who is 6-foot-6 or so might be "one and done" in college, and I am dead set against wooing a wunderkind for 30-plus games. That is what is happening around the country and it is a farce to call them student-athletes, requiring them to pass 12 hours in the fall so they can be eligible for a season. How about pros-to-be or millionaires-in-the-making? Don't blame the teenagers on the receiving end. They are only doing what they must to comply with an NBA age restriction that was instituted a couple of years ago to prevent players jumping from high school to the NBA. In the five years prior, 26 high school players were taken in the NBA draft and 19 of them were first-round picks. Al Jefferson was one of those guys. The 6-foot-10 Jefferson committed to Stan Heath out of Prentiss, Miss., but passed on the Razorbacks and was the 15th pick in the 2004 draft. Only 23, he's averaging almost 12 rebounds and 21.5 points per game for Minnesota. No doubt, he would have helped the Razorbacks. But, one year would have been the max and that's too short-term for me. On at least one NBA mock draft, six of the top eight projected picks are freshmen. That group includes Michael Beasley of Kansas State, Derrick Rose of Memphis, DeAndre Jordan of Texas A&M, Eric Gordon of Indiana, O.J. Mayo of USC and Jerryd Bayless of Arizona. Beasley scored 33 on Tuesday night in what might have been his final game in Manhattan, Kan. He also had 14 rebounds - his 26th double-double of the year. Throughout the 78-72 victory over Colorado, fans called his name and yelled "One more year," and "Please don't leave." Beasley is supposed to be the No. 1 pick in the draft and I doubt those pleas from K-State fans will sway him. Greg Oden was No. 1 last year and, under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, he signed with Portland for $3.885 million as a rookie and $4.176 in year two. He also has a shoe contract. A year ago, four of the first eight picks were freshmen, including Oden and Ohio State teammate Mike Conley Jr., Kevin Durant of Texas, and Brandan Wright of North Carolina. When a gifted freshmen moves on, the schools just go seek for more of the same without any pretense about education. Back to Clarke, who is supposed to shoot hundreds of times per day. The 37 he scored last week included 13-of-26 from the field and a perfect nine from the free throw line, but it dropped his tournament average from 53.7 per game to 49.5. The Hawgs Illustrated article said Clarke has enormous range and would have no problem from behind the new 3-point line, which will be extended to 20-9 next year. Proficiency from beyond the arc would be most welcome by coach John Pelphrey. I'm just glad Clarke is only 6-1. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
