By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas point guard Courtney Fortson played roughly half of his sophomore season. But his impact on the Razorbacks during Southeastern Conference play was more than enough to earn postseason recognition from league coaches.
Fortson was named a second-team, All-SEC selection when honors were handed out Tuesday. He and forward Marshawn Powell, who was named to the All-Freshman team, were the two Arkansas players honored Tuesday.
“These awards are based off of conference play,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said. “Certainly a lot of people felt like he was deserving of that.
“If you’ve got a guy that’s gotten that, it’s not by luck. It’s not because they’re running out of people to choose from. You’ve had to perform.”
Fortson leads Arkansas in scoring (18.1 points) and assists (6.1). He also is third on the team in rebounding (5.3) and is averaging 5.3 turnovers.
Fortson played a key role in Arkansas’ five-game win streak earlier this season. He scored 35 points in a come-from-behind win against Mississippi State. He also scored 27 in the win at Georgia in late January.
But Fortson has also struggled lately. He has been held to eight points in two of the past three games, while averaging more than six turnovers during Arkansas’ five-game losing streak.
Powell said Fortson’s recent struggles haven’t diminished his impact on the Razorbacks, though.
“I’m pretty sure everybody knows he’s a spectacular player,” Powell said. “He’s a game-changer. I’m very appreciative that he’s on my team.”
Record in Reach
Arkansas guard Rotnei Clarke has been struggling a bit from the field during the team’s five-game losing streak, but still will have an opportunity to set a school record against Georgia on Thursday.
Clarke has made 100 3-pointers this season, which is two shy of equaling a mark set by Scotty Thurman in 1994-95. Clarke became the second player in school history to make at least 100 3-pointers in a season in the loss to Ole Miss last Saturday. He finished with a team-high 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting.
“I think he’s had a great year,” Pelphrey said.
Tournament Experience
The Razorbacks don’t have many players who know what it takes to win SEC Tournament games. But one of those, senior Stefan Welsh, said Arkansas plans on drawing from those experiences Thursday.
Welsh was part of an Arkansas teams that made it to the 2007 and 2008 SEC Tournament finals. The Razorbacks couldn’t win the championship game, but Welsh said the formula for success can be repeated.
“We had a lot of experience,” Welsh said. “I think that we gelled at the right time as far as team chemistry. … We were playing every possession like it was our last. Just not wanting our season to end.
“Everything that attributed to us making it to the championship both of those years was just a little bit of want to. We want to continue to play.”
