HAWKS sharpshooter Rotnei Clarke is a man of faith.
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The same cannot be said of the critics who believed the 2014 NBL MVP should be axed by the Hawks after a slow start to the season.
Clarke has led the Hawks’ revival, amazingly since Rob Beveridge’s reshuffle put him on the bench at tip-off time.
He’s averaged more than 23 points in his past five games, is now the league’s sixth highest average pointscorer and been best on court in Saturday’s crucial win over Brisbane and the hoodoo-ending triumph in Perth.
In short, the religious US talent is back, big time.
He is now surging into contention to win the Illawarra Hawks third straight NBL MVP award, after Kevin Lisch followed his title last year. Of course, Lisch, Adelaide’s Jerome Randle and Perth’s Casey Prather are among those standing in Clarke’s way, but the Hawks title chances are firmly in his hands.
“3 main things that keep me motivated in my profession...1) knowing Its God's purpose for my life..2) providing for my family...3) the doubters,” Clarke posted on Twitter this week before Saturday clash with the Taipans in Cairns. It came after Olympian, NBA player and three-time NBL champion Chris Anstey questioned whether Clarke was still up to NBL standard, after misfiring in his second stint in the league in the early rounds.
But Clarke now has the third highest number of three-pointers this season with 38, remarkably behind last season’s Hawks teammates Lisch (41) and Kirk Penney (58).
His two-point percentage has pushed up to 54 per cent, closing in on Randle.
Clarke is one of just four Hawks NBL MVP winners, after Mike Jones (1981), Gary Ervin (2011) and Lisch (2016).
He dramatically beat Perth’s James Ennis in the count, who has gone on to play in the NBA for Miami, Memphis and New Orleans.
Clarke and the Hawks face a crucial Queensland double-header against Cairns on Saturday and Brisbane on Monday, having won four of their past five games on the road. The 27-year-old is now listed an $11 MVP chance with betting agency sportsbet.com.au, after Randle ($3) and Prather and Lisch ($5).