ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas junior forward Michael Washington (00) reaches to block a shot by Stephen F. Austin senior forward Matt Kingsley during the first half of the Hogs' 67-51 win Dec. 20 in Bud Walton Arena.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey expected freshman guard Rotnei Clarke to be a deep threat beyond the 3-point arc in the preseason. Still, some questioned Clarke's ability as he transitioned from high school to college with his relatively short, 6-foot stature.

Some of the simple questions resolved to realistic concerns. After all, how could he get a shot off with collegiate defenders towering over him and doubleteams forcing the issue?

So far, Clarke has lived up to expectations. The state of Oklahoma's all-time leading scorer in high school has hit 46 percent (26-of-57) of his shot attempts beyond the arc through nine games as a Razorback.

But is Clarke one of the best his college coach has ever seen on the court as a player at Kentucky or along the sidelines as a head coach?

Jeff Goodman, a college basketball writer for FoxSports.com, spoke with Pelphrey recently about Clarke's early-season success. On his blog Friday, Goodman listed hot-shooters such as Pelphrey's former UK teammate, Travis Ford, and others like Teddy Dupay, Matt Bonner and Brett Nelson at Florida, where Pelphrey coached for six years as an assistant.

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"He's the best," Pelphrey said of Clarke. "He's better than all of them."

Pelphrey compared Clarke to Ford, who stood at 5-9 in college, at a pre-season press conference in October.

While calling Clarke the "finest 3-point shooter in the country," Pelphrey also said Clarke was like a "Travis [Ford] on steroids."

Clarke, who hit 54.5 percent of his 3-point attempts as a senior at Verdigris (Okla.) High School last season, has hit a 3-pointer in eight out of nine games this season for Arkansas. His lone trifecta-less night came Nov. 20 against California-Davis, when Arkansas hit just one shot from beyond the arc in a 68-59 win.

"It's gotten to the point in Arkansas when Rotnei gets a clean look and he doesn't make it, everyone is saying, 'What's wrong with Rotnei?'" Pelphrey said, according to Goodman's blog.

Chairmen of the boards

Graduation and an unexpected departure brought worry to Pelphrey's basketball world in the summer.

Not only were his top scorers gone, but so were his top rebounders. Nearly 77 percent of his rebounding numbers were lost and his best man on the boards, Patrick Beverley, left the team to pursue a professional career overseas after academic issues in the summer.

But there has been hope. At least through the first third of the season, Pelphrey can rest easy. Arkansas is - perhaps surprisingly - ranked third nationally in rebounding margin with a plus-12.4 advantage average. LSU leads the nation with an advantage of 13.3 rebounds a game.

"I'd say I'm pleasantly surprised," Pelphrey said. "I think that for us to have had some success in these first nine games, that would need to be a stat that we'd win. I'm probably surprised at the margin of it."

The emergence of forward Michael Washington and true freshman guard Courtney Fortson are to credit, Pelphrey said.

Washington's double-double average of 16.1 points and 11.1 rebounds per game certainly helps. The junior is the only player in the SEC with a double-digit average in rebounds and the only one in the league to be averaging a double-double in any statistical category.

Fortson is third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.

Noting the upcoming SEC schedule, Pelphrey added an asterisk to Arkansas' rebounding numbers.

"It's going to get a lot more challenging," he said.

Fouling woes

Redshirt freshman Michael Sanchez has certainly helped Arkansas in the rebounding department in the frontcourt, but his fouling has not.

He's second on the team in boards, but fouling woes have benched the Springdale Har-Ber alum plenty in the last two games. The forward played just 13 and 16 minutes, respectively, against Austin Peay and Stephen F. Austin in the Jim Thorpe Classic last week.

The situation has Pelphrey in an evaluating mode heading into today's game against Northwestern State.

"It's not just a passing problem. It's something we've got to deal with, because in over half the games, he's been in severe foul trouble," Pelphrey said. "It's keeping him from playing to his potential and it's holding back our team from playing to its potential."

Sanchez is fifth on the team in minutes played a game (24.8), but leads the team in fouls. He fouled out against Southeastern Louisiana in the season-opener and averages more than three whistles a game.

Sanchez nabbed his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against UC-Davis.