Sports
History made at Wheat Capital
Drama usually doesn’t linger around in a 32-point blowout. But this wasn’t just an ordinary high school basketball game.
Thursday’s first round of the Wheat Capital Tournament had a little bit of everything. Some mismatches, a few games that came down to the final seconds and some star power.
Verdigris’ Rotnei Clarke is regarded as one of the top prospects in Oklahoma. And the 6-foot-1 senior guard, who has been a scoring machine during his prep career, joined some elite company.
Clarke became just the fourth player in Oklahoma high school history to score at least 3,000 points in the career during Verdigris’ 78-46 win over Centennial at Paul Outhier Fieldhouse.
The Cardinals’ shooting sensation poured in 38 points, which happens to be his season average, and now has 3,007 for his career.
Clarke’s record-breaking moment came with 19.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Needing 31 points coming into the game, Clarke converted on a three-point play to give him 3,002 for his career.
Following his free throw, the game was stopped momentarily and Clarke was given the game ball.
“I didn’t know they were going to stop the game,” he said afterwards. “That was pretty cool.”
Clarke, who has signed with the University of Arkansas for next season, said he didn’t know he had broken the record until play was halted.
“It didn’t even cross my mind,” he said.
But his head coach and uncle, Kelly Clarke, said the milestone is a number that has been on Rotnei’s mind.
Rotnei and Pawnee senior and Oklahoma State signee Keiton Page are close friends. Kelly said with Page nearing the mark as well, 3,000 has become a popular topic of conversation.
“How can it not?” Kelly Clarke said when asked if the benchmark has been a distraction to his nephew. “Him and Keiton are texting each other all the time.”
Clarke is nearly 630 points shy of the state record of 3,639 set by Maud’s Ty Harman. But he said his focus is not on the scoring record.
Instead his attention is squarely on a different type of goal.
“(Scoring) really is unimportant,” he said. “I want to win a gold ball. That’s what I work for in the gym.”
This weekend’s Wheat Capital Tournament gives high school basketball fans a chance to catch a rare glimpse of history. It’s also some pretty good basketball.
Hein is a sports writer for the News & Eagle
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