Boys Gone Wild: Rotnei Clarke Among Players Pressing the Hot Button
November 5th, 2012 - 7:21
One of the more entertaining players this season is Butler guard Rotnei Clarke, a transfer from Arkansas who should keep the Bulldogs in the nation's hoop consciousness. Clarke, a prolific long-range bomber, went hog wild three seasons ago when he erupted for a school-record 51 points with the Razorbacks against Alcorn State.
Clarke, who could become Butler's first All-American, considered transferring to Saint Louis, where his sister was a student, but Hogs coach Mike Anderson reportedly wouldn't grant a move to SLU. Clarke is on the following list of players with differences of more than 35 points between their scoring average during a season when they established an existing Division I school single-game scoring record:
| Player | School | Single-Game Scoring Record | Season Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Arizin | Villanova | 85 points vs. Philadelphia NAMC | 22 ppg in 1948-49 | 63 |
| Frank Selvy | Furman | 100 vs. Newberry, SC | 41.7 in 1953-54 | 58.3 |
| Freeman Williams | Portland State | 81 vs. Rocky Mountain, MT | 35.9 in 1977-78 | 45.1 |
| Bob Zawoluk | St. John's | 65 vs. St. Peter's | 20.3 in 1949-50 | 44.7 |
| Bill Mlkvy | Temple | 73 vs. Wilkes, PA | 29.2 in 1950-51 | 43.8 |
| Scott Haffner | Evansville | 65 vs. Dayton | 24.5 in 1988-89 | 40.5 |
| Askia Jones | Kansas State | 62 vs. Fresno State | 22.1 in 1993-94 | 39.9 |
| Mike James | Lamar | 52 vs. Louisiana College | 12.5 in 2010-11 | 39.5 |
| Robert "Bubbles" Hawkins | Illinois State | 58 vs. Northern Illinois | 18.6 in 1973-74 | 39.4 |
| Bob Kurland | Oklahoma State | 58 vs. St. Louis | 19.5 in 1945-46 | 38.5 |
| Eddie House | Arizona State | 61 vs. California | 23 in 1999-2000 | 38 |
| Oliver Morton | Chattanooga | 50 vs. Pikeville, KY | 12.1 in 2000-01 | 37.9 |
| Carlos "Bud" Ogden | Santa Clara | 55 vs. Pepperdine | 18.5 in 1966-67 | 36.5 |
| Rotnei Clarke | Arkansas | 51 vs. Alcorn State | 15.1 in 2009-10 | 35.9 |
| Tommie Johnson | Central Michigan | 53 vs. Wright State | 17.3 in 1987-88 | 35.7 |
| Matt Teahan | Denver | 61 vs. Nebraska Wesleyan | 25.3 in 1978-79 | 35.7 |
| Calvin Murphy | Niagara | 68 vs. Syracuse | 32.4 in 1968-69 | 35.6 |
| Danny Ferry | Duke | 58 vs. Miami (Fla.) | 22.6 in 1987-88 | 35.4 |