Rotnei Clarke

Rotnei Scott Clarke (born July 20, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and Butler University before beginning his professional career in Australia with the Wollongong Hawks. In his rookie season, he was named the NBL's Most Valuable Player. He went on to play in Belgium and Germany before returning to the Hawks in 2016. He can play both point guard and shooting guard, and is known for his three-point shooting ability.

During high school, Clarke's sharp shooting and chase for the Oklahoma high-school scoring record attracted large crowds. During his senior year, he led Verdigris High School to the school's first state title. He captured the state scoring record, finishing with more than 3,700 career points. Clarke was highly recruited out of high school, attracting more than 50 college scholarship offers. He selected the Arkansas Razorbacks, joining the team for the 2008–09 season.

During a game in 2009, Clarke made 13 three-pointers and scored 51 points, setting SEC and team records respectively. During the 2010–11 season, he led Arkansas in scoring and made the All-SEC second team. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was fired at the end of the season and Clarke elected to leave the team. After sitting out a year, he joined the Butler Bulldogs for the 2012–13 season. He led the Bulldogs in scoring and was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team.

Early life Clarke was born to Conley and Christine Clarke. Clarke is one-sixteenth Cherokee, a descendant of people who walked the Trail of Tears, and distantly related to actor Will Rogers and athlete Jim Thorpe. Verdigris recorded its first ever state-playoff win, before losing in the Class 3A semi-finals. He ended the year leading the state in scoring at 34.2 points per game. In the state tournament, the Cardinals again reached the semi-final game. During the AAU spring season, he averaged 25 points for Team Texas. Clarke ended the game with 37 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals, as he led Verdigris into the state playoffs with a 70–51 victory.

More than 13,000 people attended the 2008 state finals, filling the aisles of the 10,000 seat arena that hosted the event.

Clarke ended his high school career with 3,758 points, beating out Page's 3,709 for the most in Oklahoma high school history. His work ethic was an inspiration to younger players, and he was happy to help them work on their games. ESPN ranked Clarke as the sixth best point guard, and 52nd best player overall in his recruiting class. Dave Telep, analyst for Scout.com, wrote "He is flat out, without a doubt, the best shooter in the 2008 class". The service rated Clarke as 4-stars. He ranked ninth in the country in both three-point shooting percentage (42.7%) and three-pointers made per game (3.2). Clarke was named to the SEC Community Service Team and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VII team. On February 28, he was again honored as Player of the Week after he led Arkansas to wins over Alabama and 22nd ranked Kentucky. For the season, Clarke led Arkansas with 15.2 points per game and made the All-SEC second team. After a few months, Clarke again asked for his release. "I have spent the last couple of months getting to know Coach Anderson, his staff and his system. And I still feel as though it's best for me to finish my career somewhere else," he explained. "I wasn't interested in things like top-notch facilities anymore," he explained. "I was interested in being around good teammates, good people ... And the success Butler had had the previous two years really attracted me."

As a transfer, Clarke had to sit out a year before being eligible to play. He used the redshirt year to work on his game, practicing against Butler's Ronald Nored, who was considered one of the top defenders in the country. During the opening round game of the Maui Invitational, Clarke hit a running three-pointer at the buzzer to lead Butler to a 72–71 victory over Marquette.

On December 15, 2012, Butler faced off against number one ranked Indiana. With Indiana up four points in overtime, Clarke hit a three-pointer that launched an 8–2 Butler run to finish the game. The win was Butler's first ever over a number-one ranked them and launched them into the top 25. By early January, the team was ranked 13th in the AP Poll.

On January 12, 2013, during a game against Dayton, Clarke stole the ball from Matt Derenbecker and was going up for a fast-break layup when he was fouled hard from behind by Derenbecker.

Clarke finished the regular season with a 16.7 point per game average, fourth in the Atlantic 10. He was first in the conference in made three-pointers per game (3.5) and free throw percentage (89.6%). Clarke led Butler to a 24–7 record and third-place finish in the Atlantic 10. His accomplishments landed Clarke on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team.

During the Atlantic 10 tournament, Clarke scored 21 and 14 points in wins over Dayton and La Salle, and 16 points in a loss to St. Louis. He collected eight assists and hit ten three-pointers over the three game stretch. Butler entered the NCAA tournament as the sixth seed. For Clarke, it was the first time his team was selected to a postseason tournament. Commenting on the experience, he said "I was extremely nervous [watching the selection show.] I don't know why. It's my first time to go through this and I was sweating and my knees were shaking a little bit." Through the first thirty minutes of the game, he had only six points and no made three-pointers. However, over the final ten minutes he scored 11, including two important threes, helping Butler to a 68–56 victory. However, he injured his shoulder near the end of the half and was less effective in the second half, scoring just six points.

Clarke ended the season with 115 made three-pointers, second most ever by a Butler player, and fifth most ever by an Atlantic 10 player. For the season, he was first in the Atlantic 10 and sixth in the NCAA in made threes per game with 3.48. His 88.6% free-throw accuracy ranked second in the Atlantic 10, and ninth on the Butler all-time list. Clarke made at least one three in all 33 games he played for Butler, and his last 46 college games overall. He finished his career with 389 made three-pointers, tied for 15th in NCAA history. "When I made my decision to leave Arkansas, I knew that I wanted to be somewhere that I'd have the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament ... It's amazing how God works", commented Clarke on his Butler experience. While still recovering from the shoulder injury, he participated in the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational camp and tournament for NBA prospects in mid-April.

Professional career 2013 NBA draft Ahead of the 2013 NBA draft, Clarke trained at St. Vincent Sports Performance and hired Doug Neustadt to be his agent. Ultimately, he was not drafted. Clarke said he would rather play professionally in Europe than in the NBA Development League, believing that is his most likely route to the NBA. "I do believe I have the confidence and I have the ability to play in [the NBA]," he said. "I'm not going to go out and say I'm going to be a starter ... But I do believe I have the ability to come in and do things that a lot of people think I can't." Clarke later had a change of heart, and on August 1, 2013, he signed with the Hawks for the 2013–14 NBL season. He made his debut for the Hawks in the team's season opener on October 10, recording 20 points and six rebounds in a 92–73 loss to the New Zealand Breakers. The Hawks struggled with consistency in 2013–14, but behind Clarke, they managed to stay in playoff contention. Clarke earned Player of the Month honors twice during the season, for December and February, and battled for MVP supremacy with Melbourne Tigers guard Chris Goulding and Perth Wildcats forward James Ennis. Clarke helped the Hawks finish the regular season with a 13–15 record, good for fourth spot on the ladder out of eight teams. In their semi-final match-up with the Perth Wildcats, Clarke struggled with his shot, going 10-of-32 over the two games they played. In the best-of-three series, the Hawks were swept 2–0 by the eventual champion Wildcats. At the season's end, he was named the recipient of the NBL Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Goulding and Ennis. He finished third in total points scored (633), fourth in scoring average (21.1 points per game), equal first for three-pointers (95) and third for free throw percentage (81%). He appeared in all 30 games for the Hawks and also averaged 2.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Okapi Aalstar On June 19, 2014, Clarke signed with Belgian club Okapi Aalstar for the 2014–15 season. In 32 games for the club, he averaged 17.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He also played in six EuroChallenge games, averaging 15.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Telekom Baskets Bonn On July 10, 2015, Clarke signed with German club Telekom Baskets Bonn for the 2015–16 season. In 33 games for the club, he averaged 11.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He also played in 10 EuroCup games, averaging 11.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Illawarra Hawks and Italy On July 12, 2016, Clarke signed a two-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks, returning to the club for a second stint. October 7, 2016, he scored a team-high 23 points in the Hawks' 122–88 season-opening win over the Adelaide 36ers. On December 5, 2016, he scored a season-high 29 points off the bench in a 99–93 loss to the Sydney Kings. On February 11, 2017, in the Hawks' regular season finale, Clarke had 24 points, six assists, five rebounds off the bench in helping the team secure a playoff spot with a 106–79 win over the Brisbane Bullets. Two days later, he was named the recipient of the NBL Best Sixth Man Award. After helping the Hawks defeat the first-seeded Adelaide 36ers in the semi-finals, Clarke and the Hawks moved on to the best-of-five NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated 3–0 by the Perth Wildcats. He appeared in all 34 games for the Hawks in 2016–17, averaging 17.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

On March 9, 2017, Clarke signed with Victoria Libertas Pesaro of the Lega Basket Serie A for the rest of the 2016–17 season. In eight games for Pesaro, he averaged 19.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

In his second season with the Illawarra Hawks, Clarke averaged 18.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 25 games. On November 5, 2017, he scored a season-high 29 points in a 93–83 win over the Sydney Kings. The Hawks missed the finals in 2017–18 with a 12–16 record.

On February 20, 2018, Clarke re-signed with Victoria Libertas Pesaro for the rest of the 2017–18 season. He joined Pallacanestro Trapani of the Italian second division on July 16, 2018.

On August 1, 2019, he has signed with Pallacanestro Mantovana of the Italian Serie A2 Basket. He averaged 19.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

Return to Italy On February 17, 2021, he has signed with Cestistica San Severo of the Italian Serie A2 Basket. On July 16, he signed with Scafati Basket.

Skill set and accolades

Clarke began high school as a shooting guard, but worked to expand his game. "I [worked] very hard on being able to get my shot off the dribble, hard on driving the basket and on all facet of my game," he said. "I was determined not to be known as just a spot-up shooter." He handled the task well and became Butler's primary ball-handler for the 2012–13 season, but also played off the ball at times. On Clarke's transition to point guard and role on the team, Butler assistant coach Michael Lewis remarked, "He's a much better overall basketball player than he was at Arkansas. At the same time, we ... don't want to limit Rotnei Clarke's shot." That same season, Jay Bilas described Clarke as the nation's top three-point shooter. On Clarke, his Butler University Head Coach Brad Stevens commented: "It's arguable who is the best standstill three-point shooter, but I don't know that there's anybody I've ever seen in the last three years who can make so many tough threes with just a sliver of daylight." During high school, a typical workout would involve 500 made three-pointers, 200 made free throws, numerous mid-range jumpshots, weight-lifting, sprinting and ball-handling drills. He regularly spoke with teammates and opposing players about his faith. He left letters on visiting players' lockers explaining what Jesus meant to him.

Clarke is naturally an introvert and does not necessarily like being recognized off the basketball court. "Cassie and I are best friends," Clarke remarks. and the couple have one daughter, Kyah.