# 2008–09 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas in the 2008–09 college basketball season. The head coach was John Pelphrey, serving for his second year. The team played its home games in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

## 2008–09 Roster

Entering the year, the Razorbacks pulled in the 24th best recruiting class of 2008, including ESPNU 100 recruit Rotnei Clarke. Clarke was ranked the sixth-best incoming point guard in the nation by ESPN.
Former Razorbacks football star receiver Marcus Monk returned with a sixth year of eligibility to play basketball for the Hogs. Intending to play both, Monk played 10 games for Stan Heath his freshman year before focusing only on football. Although picked in the 2008 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, Monk never signed and remained an amateur athlete.
Monk returned to the University shortly after the departure of Montrell McDonald. McDonald left the team on his own accord after the South Alabama game.
2008–09 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball roster :
| Source: arkansasrazorbacks.com – The Official Site of University of Arkansas Athletics |||||||||
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown (Prev School) |
| Michael Washington | 00 | F | 6–9 | 239 | Junior | McGehee, AR (Genesis One Christian School) |
| Jason Henry | 1 | G/F | 6–6 | 189 | Freshman | West Memphis, AR (Harmony Prep [Cincinnati, Ohio]) |
| Nick Mason | 2 | G | 5–10 | 160 | Freshman | Jonesboro, AR (Jonesboro HS) |
| Courtney Fortson | 4 | G | 5–11 | 180 | Freshman | Montgomery, AL (The Patterson Prep [Lenoir, N.C.]) |
| Marcus Monk | 10 | G/F | 6–6 | 220 | Senior | Lepanto, AR (East Poinsett) |
| Brandon Moore | 11 | F | 6–9 | 215 | Freshmen | New Orleans, LA (Holy Cross HS) |
| Marcus Britt | 12 | G | 6–3 | 198 | Sophomore | Madison, AR (Forrest City HS) |
| Stefan Welsh | 14 | G | 6–3 | 185 | Junior | Newport News, VA (Hargrave Military Academy) |
| Rotnei Clarke | 15 | G | 6–0 | 184 | Freshman | Verdigris, OK (Verdigris HS) |
| John Paul Noland | 21 | G | 6–3 | 185 | Senior | Southlake, TX (Southlake Carroll HS) |
| Stephen Cox | 25 | G | 6–3 | 201 | Junior | Jonesboro, AR (Jonesboro HS) |
| Michael Sanchez | 31 | F | 6–8 | 236 | Freshman | Springdale, AR (Har-Ber HS) |
| Andre Clark | 44 | F | 6–9 | 218 | Freshman | North Little Rock, AR (North Little Rock West HS) |
* ^a Jason Henry was held out of six games for undisclosed disciplinary issues.
* ^b Courtney Fortson was suspended on February 12 by John Pelphrey for an undisclosed disciplinary issue. He missed the Kentucky game on February 14, but returned to action four days later against LSU.
* ^c Marcus Monk was kept out of the January 24 game against Auburn with questions about his eligibility. Monk did not play again for the Razorbacks, and AD Jeff Long issued a release on February 13 stating that Monk is no longer with the team. Monk had completed his undergraduate degree.
* ^d Brandon Moore was suspended after an arrest for DUI on January 18, 2009. He would not return to play until January 31 against LSU, and would not score until the February 7 contest at Mississippi State.

## 2008–09 schedule and results

Retrieved from arkansasrazorbacks.com
| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| 10/24/08* 7:30 pm | Red-White exhibition | W 33–29 | | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| 11/3/08* 7:05 pm | Campbellsville exhibition | W 103–58 | | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| 11/6/08* 7:05 pm | Dillard exhibition | W 108–80 | | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, AR |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/08* 7:05 pm | Southeastern Louisiana | W 91–87 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | Bud Walton Arena (13,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| 11/20/08* 7:05 pm | UC-Davis | W 68–59 | 2–0 | Bud Walton Arena (13,540) Fayetteville, AR |
| 11/22/08* 7:00 pm | at Missouri State | L 57–62 | 2–1 | JQH Arena (10,285) Springfield, MO |
| 11/26/08* 8:00 pm, CSS | at South Alabama | W 79–77 | 3–1 | Mitchell Center (6,148) Mobile, AL |
| 11/29/08* 2:05 pm | FAMU | W 86–61 | 4–1 | Bud Walton Arena (13,720) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/3/08* 7:05 pm, RSP | Texas Southern | W 80–61 | 5–1 | Bud Walton Arena (13,506) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/10/08* 7:05 pm, RSP | North Carolina Central | W 98–70 | 6–1 | Bud Walton Arena (13,735) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/17/08* 7:05 pm, SUN | Austin Peay Jim Thorpe Classic | W 89–80 | 7–1 | Bud Walton Arena (13,557) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/20/08* 7:05 pm, RSP | Stephen F. Austin Jim Thorpe Classic | W 67–51 | 8–1 | Bud Walton Arena (13,872) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/27/08* 5:05 pm, ESPN2 | Northwestern State | W 95–56 | 9–1 | Bud Walton Arena (14,281) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/30/08* 7:05 pm, RSP | No. 4 Oklahoma | W 96–88 | 10–1 | Bud Walton Arena (19,604) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/3/09* 2:05 pm, RSP | North Texas | W 86–75 | 11–1 | Alltel Arena (15,687) North Little Rock, AR |
| 1/6/09* 8:05 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7 Texas | W 67–61 | 12–1 | Bud Walton Arena (19,012) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/10/09 7:05 pm, FSN | Mississippi State | L 56–70 | 12–2 (0–1) | Bud Walton Arena (18,884) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/14/09 7:00 pm | at Ole Miss Rivalry | L 65–74 | 12–3 (0–2) | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,609) Oxford, MS |
| 1/17/09 1:00 pm, Raycom | at Florida | L 65–80 | 12–4 (0–3) | O'Connell Center (12,348) Gainesville, FL |
| 1/24/09 1:05 pm, Raycom | Auburn | L 51–73 | 12–5 (0–4) | Bud Walton Arena (18,246) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/29/09 8:05 pm, ESPN | Alabama | W 89–80 | 13–5 (1–4) | Bud Walton Arena (17,083) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/31/09 4:00 pm, FSN | at LSU Rivalry | L 69–79 | 13–6 (1–5) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,698) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 2/4/09 7:05 pm, Raycom | Tennessee | L 74–72 | 13–7 (1–6) | Bud Walton Arena (16,064) Fayetteville, AR |
| 2/7/09 2:05 pm, Raycom | at Mississippi State | L 77–86 | 13–8 (1–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,891) Starkville, MS |
| 2/11/09 7:00 pm | at Auburn | L 62–75 | 13–9 (1–8) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (4,347) Auburn, AL |
| 2/14/09 12:05 pm, CBS | Kentucky | L 63–79 | 13–10 (1–9) | Bud Walton Arena (19,041) Fayetteville, AR |
| 2/18/09 7:05 pm | No. 23 LSU | L 69–72 | 13–11 (1–10) | Bud Walton Arena (16,079) Fayetteville, AR |
| 2/21/09 6:00 pm | at South Carolina | L 78–82 $^{OT}$ | 13–12 (1–11) | Colonial Life Arena (16,507) Columbia, SC |
| 2/25/09 7:00 pm | at Alabama | L 67–88 | 13–13 (1–12) | Coleman Coliseum (9,161) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 3/1/09 3:05 pm, Raycom | Georgia | W 89–67 | 14–13 (2–12) | Bud Walton Arena (19,724) Fayetteville, AR |
| 3/4/09 7:05 pm | Ole Miss Rivalry | L 91–98 $^{OT}$ | 14–14 (2–13) | Bud Walton Arena (15,633) Fayetteville, AR |
| 3/8/09 1:00 pm, Raycom | at Vanderbilt | L 58–75 | 14–15 (2–14) | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| 2009 SEC men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 3/12/09 8:45 pm, Raycom | vs. Florida | L 58–73 | 14–16 (2–14) | St. Pete Times Forum (12,152) Tampa, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Courtney Fortson
    SEC Player of the Week
    Freshman Player of the Week
    All-SEC, Freshman team
* Michael Washington
    SEC Player of the Week
    All-SEC, second team – Associated Press, SEC coaches
    All-District VII – United States Basketball Writers Association
    All-District 21, second team – National Association of Basketball Coaches