Bulter Bulldogs' Rotnei Clarke of Verdigris, Oklahoma gets shot at NCAA tournament against Bucknell
Rotnei Clarke #15 of the Butler Bulldogs controls the ball against the St. Louis Billikens in the second half during the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament - Semifinals at the Barclays Center on March 16, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New…
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Posted: 03/20/2013
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Butler's Rotnei Clarke never figured it would be this hard to get to the postseason.
After three disappointing finishes at Arkansas (http://bit.ly/Y4ZYcv) and sitting out last season after transferring to Butler, the star shooter will get his first and only chance to play in the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs (26-8), who missed the tourney last year after reaching back-to-back championship games, made it back this year with Clarke leading the way.
Butler was selected as an at-large by the selection committee after the Bulldogs lost to St. Louis 67-56 in the semi-finals of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
After the game Clarke tweeted, "Tough loss. Thanks to everyone for the support! We gotta move past it and get ready for the one that matters most. God is good"
They will open tourney play Thursday against Bucknell in Lexington, Ky.
For Clarke, this is the culmination of a career that didn't go as planned after setting the Oklahoma high school scoring record with nearly 3,800 points.
During his senior year he led the team at Verdigris High School to the state title.
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