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Clarke Making Her Own Mark
Last updated Monday, January 12, 2009 7:13 PM CST in Prep Sports
By Vernon Tarver
THE MORNING NEWS
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FAYETTEVILLE -- Even though she has switched schools and moved across state borders, Cassie Clarke can't shake the old moniker. Wherever she goes, she is still known as Rotnei's little sister.
For Fayetteville girls' basketball, that is turning out to be a very good thing.
"A lot a people are like, 'Your brother is Rotnei Clarke.' And in Oklahoma I was known as Rotnei Clarke's little sister," said Cassie Clarke. "Coming here I thought that might change, but I'm still known as Rotnei's little sister, but it's not really any extra pressure. We get along really well. I go to all of his games and he comes to all of my games. So I just think it's really fun to have him around still."
For the Lady Bulldogs, having Cassie Clarke around has no doubt been a big bundle of joy so far as well. Stepping into an already talented crop of players at Fayetteville, the 5-foot-11 guard has been a perfect piece of the puzzle.
"What we didn't need was a replacement because we had some pretty good players back," Lady Bulldogs coach Bobby Smith said. "What we needed was somebody who was going to make us better.
"And no one's shots are down from last year with the addition of her and (sophomore) Callie (Berna). So no one's production is down from last year."
While the other Lady Purple'Dogs have seen their solid play stay intact, there's no arguing the fact Clarke has been a big addition to the lineup. Averaging a team-high 15 points and six rebounds per game, Clarke has put up steady numbers throughout the early season for a Fayetteville team ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today Super 25 poll.
"She's leading our team in rebounding and the one thing our team needed was defensive rebounding," Smith said. "We didn't teach her that and she came in with a defensive mindset. And one of the things we had a hard time figuring out was how to replace Chantlee Nash's seven or eight boards per game. And while Chantlee can't be replaced, those rebounds (Clarke) gets are big."
Whether it be rebounds, knocking down the occasional 3-pointer, handing out an assist or managing to come up with a key steal, Clarke has done a little bit of everything for Fayetteville thus far.
"I just feel like with this team it's real easy to be a good team player," Clarke said. "You just contribute the ball to everybody because you know you're going to kick it outside and people are going to do everything with the ball. So that's what I've been focusing on this season."
Clarke's team-first attitude hasn't gone unnoticed. From a Most Valuable Player award at the Duncanville (Texas) Invitational to right up the street where her big brother resides, her hard work is appreciated.
"She's a more dominant player inside at guard (than me) because she has the height advantage, needless to say that I don't have, and can post people up," Rotnei Clarke said. "I'm jealous of her for that. She's got a great shot, too, and has the ability to make others around her better.
"She's really excelling right now because she has a point guard that finds her, plus they have a very unselfish team."
That unselfish approach has helped the Lady Bulldogs jet out to a perfect 15-0 start so far this season. But as Clarke knows from previous experience of coming up just short of state titles in her former hometown of Claremore, Okla., the job at hand isn't close to being complete.
"I've never won a state championship in volleyball or basketball," Clarke said. "So that's my main goal this year without a doubt."
CASSIE CLARKE
School: Fayetteville
Class: Senior
Height: 5-11
Notable: Clarke is the younger sister of Arkansas freshman guard Rotnei Clarke. In her first season with the Lady Bulldogs, she currently leads the team in scoring and rebounding and is second in 3-point field goals, assists and steals.
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