Fortson signs with agent
Guard's career ends at Arkansas after 2 seasons
By
Bob Holt
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
FAYETTEVILLE — Point guard Courtney Fortson’s Arkansas basketball career is over after two seasons.
Fortson has signed with an agent, Charles Briscoe of Atlanta-based BP Sports Management, which ends his college eligibility and means he’s staying in the NBA Draft.
Courtney Fortson + Enlarge
Briscoe announced the Fortson signing on Wednesday night, and the news was confirmed by Arkansas officials.
“Courtney Fortson has decided to sign with an agent and we are appreciative of him keeping us in the loop as he and his family made decisions about his career,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said in a statement released through the sports information office. “We wish him all the best as he follows his dreams of playing professional basketball and thank him for his effort over the last two seasons as a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks.”
Arkansas had announced Sunday that Fortson was declaring for the 2010 NBA Draft, but hadn’t signed with an agent, which at the time left open the possibility of returning to college for his junior season.
Fortson was suspended for the first 14 games last season because of undisclosed disciplinary reasons, then came back and averaged a team-high 17.9 points and 5.7 assists along with 5.2 rebounds in 33.3 minutes in the final 18 games. He also averaged 5.1 turnovers.
In 16 conference games, Fortson averaged an SEC-best 5.9 assists and his 18-point scoring average ranked third.
Fortson’s departure means junior guard Rotnei Clarke is the only player left at Arkansas from a six-man class of newcomers for the 2008-2009 season.
Read the Thursday edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.
Comments
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jburatowski says...
On one side, I think this is a horrible decision on his part. On the other I am glad to see him go, this is addition by subtraction.
April 21, 2010 at 10:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DistantHog says...
Here's hoping the Volcano dust cloud settles soon - I suspect young Mr Fortson will be needing to get to Europe (to find work) by mid-summer.
:-)
April 22, 2010 at 3:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kromekote4020 says...
Even in Europe he should be a millionaire. He probably was failing and decided to take the money. He might show up in the NBA some day. Pelphrey's career depends on this next recruiting class.
April 22, 2010 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wyohog says...
The only decision Fortson made was to not do his schoolwork. He didn't decide to forego his eligibility to try for the NBA; he couldn't (or wouldn't) handle the classroom stuff, so he wasn't going to be able to play for the Hogs next year anyway. He was a talented college player that needed a little more understanding of the concept of team basketball, but I wish him all the best in what he is able to do out of school (I'm not convinced it will be playing basketball).
The thing that concerns me most about this and all of the other player departures is how it will affect our APR score. We could lose more scholarships because of moves like this. This is something that is essentially out of a coach's control, but something that affects the entire program nonetheless.
April 22, 2010 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jedog says...
ONE WORD..... BYE!
April 23, 2010 at 2:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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