Fortson Powell Clarke earn SEC awards

FAYETTEVILLE – Sophomores Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clarke and freshman Marshawn Powell were all recognized with post-season awards by the Southeastern Conference this week.

Fortson was named second-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches while Powell earned a unanimous spot on the All-Freshman team. Clarke rounded out the honors with his inclusion to the SEC Community Service Team.

Fortson leads Arkansas in scoring at 18.1 points per game and has totaled more than 100 assists over 17 games. He is grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game and scored a career best 35 points against Mississippi State in a pivotal Arkansas win including 33 in the second half to match the Bulldogs second-half total. The honor for Fortson is his second to an SEC post-season squad as he was named to the All-Freshman team a year ago.

Powell was one of four players to be selected unanimously to the All-Freshman team and the only one outside of Kentucky. Powell ranks No. 3 in scoring among SEC freshmen at 15.1 points and No. 2 in rebounding at 6.7 per game. He is widely regarded as one of the top newcomers in the league and one coach even went as far as to say that he was the No. 2 first-year player in the league outside of Kentucky’s John Wall. Powell is the 13th Arkansas player to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team since 1993 and the second in as many years (Fortson).

Clarke rounded out the SEC Awards as Arkansas’ representative on the Community Service team. One of the most giving Razorbacks, Clarke is a fan favorite and been a featured speaker at numerous events including church groups and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This past holiday season he visited the Fayetteville Juvenile Detention Center at Thanksgiving to serve meals and at Christmas played with children at a local game stop.

The Razorbacks are back on the court for the first round of the SEC Championship Tournament on Thursday evening when they face Georgia at 8:45 p.m.