Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports
Butler Bulldogs guard Rotnei Clarke had a very scary injury on Saturday afternoon versus Dayton as he crashed head-first into the basket support on a breakaway layup and had to be taken off the court on a stretcher. The good news is that Clarke had no spinal cord damage but he is not expected to play either game this week for Butler. This has been announced by the school tonight.
Before this update came out tonight, Rotnei’s dad Conley Clarke said about his son “If they’re thinking about not letting him play Saturday, they’re going to have to take him to another county.” Conley Clarke also added that his son will follow the doctor’s order.
According to Butler’s Head Athletic Trainer Ryan Galloy, he said “Rotnei saw a spine specialist today and based on that visit and his previous examinations, we felt it was in his best interest to hold him out this week.”
The Bulldogs will miss Rotnei Clarke this week as they take on Richmond and No. 8 Gonzaga, both games will be home. They will miss his scoring presence as he is averaging 16.3 points per game this season which ranks third in the Atlantic 10.
Without Clarke, Gonzaga will have the upper hand against Butler because they have a quick guard in Kevin Pangos but the Zags are also a good shooting team from the perimeter. They are shooting 36.5 percent from the three point line.
For Butler this will be a test this week to see if they can fare without their star guard but its good news that the medical staff is taking their time with Clarke because you rather have him playing in March when the games count the most.
Jovan Alford is a writer for Rant Sports covering the A-10 Conference for College Basketball.
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