Clarke feels blessed to walk out of hospital

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Butler's Rotnei Clarke is sidelined at least for the next two games after a nasty foul on Saturday.

 The star guard and head coach Brad Stevens talked to the media Tuesday night.

Clarke won't be on the court for Butler's next two games. Instead, he'll be on the bench cheering on the team.

The foul sent gasps around the college basketball world Saturday. Clarke went down hard, crashing into a stanchion in Dayton.

Three days after that flagrant foul, Clarke and Butler head coach Brad Stevens talked about it publicly for the the first time.

"I feel very blessed to be able to be walking right now," Clarke said.

"When it involves a guy on your team it especially pulls and tugs at you," Stevens said.

Clarke didn't move from the court after the foul for several minutes. He was eventually taken off on a stretcher. He said it looked pretty bad, but believe it or not, he's doing okay.

"I feel normal; I just got some soreness in my shoulders and my neck is a little stiff," he said.      

Clarke, however, is being evaluated by team trainers and doctors.

"One of the things he's really going to have to do over the next few days is just be as good of a teammate as he can be because it's going to be frustrating and disappointing not being able to play, especially for a 5th year senior," Stevens said.        

Butler's next two matchups are with Richmond and Gonzaga at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

 "We are going to have to be really good and we're going to have to be really good deep into our bench, as you always have to be," Stevens said

Clarke is the team's leading scorer. Coach Stevens said it's time for someone else to step up

"Rotnei's made a bunch of big plays for us. He's helped us win a ton of games and now it's somebody else's turn to help him win a game or two," Stevens said.

Clarke said he's not mad at the other guy. He said he didn't want to make an easy shot for him and that's part of the game.

Doctors will re-evaluate his condition next week.