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Thursday, Nqvkmbbk n, aoio 1 The Red * Black
Richt warns not to assume guilt with Newton
By MITCH BLOMERT
The Red & Black
Georgia head coach Mark
Richt isn’t ready to put a final
verdict on Auburn quarterback
Cameron Newton Just yet.
Richt said Wednesday he con
siders Newton innocent of any
wrongdoing with the NCAA until
he is actually proven to have
done something, and the situa
tion with the Heisman Trophy
favorite has been blown out of
proportion.
“It’s just amazing the amount
of noise there is around it,"
Richt said. “Whether somebody
does something or not, there's
just a lot of attention put on
accusations that may pr may not
be true. I’m not even talking
about this one in particular, but
just in general.”
Newton is under NCAA inves
tigation on whether a man rep
resenting him requested $200,000
for Newton’s commitment.
According to two sources from
Mississippi State University,
Newton and his father, Cecil
Newton, said in separate phone
conversations before ’nis com
mitment to Auburn that the for
mer junior college standout
would commit based on a pay
to-play agreement.
But the NCAA has yet to
release its findings on the inves
tigation, and Newton has yet to
receive any punishment.
“Somebody gets accused of
something and it’s like a bomb
goes off,” Richt said. “Whether
or not it’s true —and I don’t
think some people care if it’s
WIN: Team
ready for
season to
start up
► From Page 1
Every Georgia player that
got into the game scored,
with six Lady Bulldogs
reaching double-figures, led
by sophomore guard Jasmine
James and freshman Ronika
Ransford.
Both players posted
impressive 13-point efforts.
Ransford had a flashback
to her successful high school
days in Washington, D.C., on
an acrobatic up-and-under
layup with 9:04 left in the
first half, drawing a foul in
the process.
But she said it’s not the
type of play she wants to see
become routine during the
season.
“I used to do that a lot in
high school, but I’m trying
to get away from that,
because you can’t ‘dipsy-do’
in college,” Ransford said.
“But it was a little reminder
back to my old days.”
As for Hansford’s fellow
high scorer; James, she was
just itching for Sunday’s first
game against Georgia
Southern to get here.
“It’s going to be an excit
ing season, so I just hope
everybody’s ready,” she said.
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MEGHAN PITTMAN |Tm Rio Black
▲ Georgia's A.J. Green (8) faced NCAA suspension earlier this season, but head coach
Mark Richt said people should not jump to conclusions based on accusations.
true or not they’re going to
sensationalize and make a big
deal about it.”
Richt compared the situation
to an incident that occurred
with his own player, wide receiv
er A.J. Green, before this season.
Green was part of a previous
Bulldogs sign three recruits
Recruit Caldwell
headlines class
By MITCH BLOMERT
The Red & Black
The men's basketball team
was active on the first day of
the early signing period
Wednesday, receiving signed
letters of Intent from recruits
Kentavius Caldwell, Tim Dixon
and John Florveus.
For the Bulldogs, Caldwell
ranks as the highest-rated
recruit to sign with the school
in recent memory.
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard
is a five-star prospect who is
ranked fourth in the nation
at his position by Scout.com.
He is expected to make an im
mediate contribution for the
Bulldogs next season.
With Caldwell signing on
during the early signing period,
head coach Mark Fox has suc
cessfully recruited in state for
the year —a priority he set for
his program upon being hired
in 2008.
Dixon is a 6-foot-10 two-star
center prospect out of
Oldsmar Christian School, just
north of Tampa, Fla.
He is expected to add some
much-needed depth on the
front line.
Florveus, a 7-foot center out
of Hillsborough Community
College in Tampa, Fla., is the
latest 2011 commit after
choosing Georgia on Oct. 18.
He also received offers from Hawaii,
UTER lowa State and Washington
State before his commitment to the
SPORTS
NCAA investigation in July, in
which he was alleged to be one
of several Division I athletes
invited to a party in Miami
where they received special ben
efits from agents.
Although Green denied ever
traveling to Miami, a tweet from
Bulldogs.
Florveus was the first 2011 commit
ment to sign his letter of intent on
Wednesday evening, followed by let
ters from Caldwell and Dixon.
The early signing period for college
basketball lasts until Nov. 17. There
are no additional commitments
expected to sign with the
Bulldogs.
Crowell sets visit dates
Five-star running back pros
pect Isaiah Crowell will finally
get a chance to take in a
Georgia game this season —■
twice.
Crowell will attend the •
Bulldogs’ upcoming road con
test against Auburn Saturday,
then visit Athens when Georgia
closes out its regular season
against Georgia Tech on Nov.
27.
The 6-foot, 210-pound senior
out of Carver High in Columbus
has narrowed his options down
to Georgia and the defending
national champion Alabama
Crimson Tide.
Crowell told Scout.com that
the two schools are “even” at
the moment. He said he would
announce his final decision
after the high school Class AA
state championship game on
Dec. 10 at the Georgia Dome, if
Carver advances that far and
wins.
If the team doesn’t, he will
announce his choice on his
signing day.
Crowell is currently ranked
second in the nation among
running backs and would be
CALDWELL
kf *- *
j
8
K i
FLORVEUS
DIXON
the second five-star commitment in
Georgia's 2011 recruiting class if he
picks the Bulldogs.
APPLY ONLINE @ ATHENSSTUDENTHOUSING.COM
*flf ( I{JfSJSks - 5*J *J*S| • T *£%< J XiSS3R}JT.3P J*. V. -
North Carolina defensive tackle
Marvin Austin said via Twitter
the Bulldogs' top wideout was in
fact attending the party.
“1 think anybody is innocent
unless there’s some probf that
they're guilty,” Richt said.
“That’s America. That’s how
‘Down Under’ golfers
stand out for Georgia
By JAMIE MCDONOUGH
The Red & Black
The University of
Georgia is home to a wide
array of international stu
dents.
Ironically, two interna
tional members of the
men’s golf team hail from
the same part of the world
Down Under.
Sophomores Bryden
Macpherson and
Scott McAlpine
arrived at Georgia
by way of Melbourne,
Australia and
Auckland, New
Zealand, respective
ly-
Macpherson, last
season's SEC
Freshman of the
Year, chose to come
to the University on
a whim. His long
time friend and for
mer Bulldog golfer,
Wayne Smith, rec
ommended
Macpherson to
Georgia’s head
coach Chris Haack.
“I visited the
University last fall
and was in Athens
by January,”
Macpherson said. “It was a
bit of a shock at first with
the U.S. university struc
ture being different and the
seasons being opposite
from back home, but I
adjusted quickly.”
Me Alpine, on the other
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
we’re trying to operate."
Asa result, Richt opted not
to prepare his team for any
Auburn quarterbacks other than
Newton. He said he "doesn’t
know much” about the Tigers’
backups, but that no one on the
staff expects Newton to sit out.
The players feel the same way
—and even invite it.
“I'm not sure exactly what’s
going on,” defensive tackle
Kiante Tripp said. “But he’s a
football player. I’m quite sure
he’s focused on the game and
that’s just how his mind-set
should be so he can play his best
against us.”
' Richt said the amount of
national attention Newton has
attracted had relatively no effect
on the Bulldogs at practice this
week. They will finish this week
by using crowd noises in their
practices, before traveling to
Auburn for a game with major
implications for both teams.
A win for Georgia would give
the team six wins, thus making
the Bulldogs bowl eligible.
Auburn can clinch the SEC
West with a win Saturday.
“I think it probably distracts
them a lot less than you proba
bly think,” Richt said.
"Sometimes we kind of live in
our own little world over here,
which isn’t all bad sometimes,
especially when you have all this
stuff flying around. Your meet
ings, your practices, they’re kind
of a place you can go to get away
from it all.”
hand, had always known he
wanted to attend college in
the States.
“I had played in many
tournaments in the States
before college and I knew I
wanted to play for an
American university,”
McAlpine said. “I was lucky
to get in contact with coach
Haack and I heard great
things about UGA. I came
for one visit before I moved
here and loved the
facilities, the town
and the school.”
Though both
have enjoyed early
success at Georgia,
the move has not
come without
adjustments for
either student-ath
lete.
Both McAlpine
and Macpherson
agree that the level
of competition is
higher in the U.S.
compared to their
region of the world.
“I am probably
the best amateur
golfer in Australia
right now,”
Macpherson said.
“But, that doesn’t
mean much here in
’ ll|||.
MACPHERSON
% *Jssr
MCALPINE
the States. In order to
become competitive with
the best amateurs over
here, I have to immerse
myself in their environ
ment.” (
Aside from getting
acquainted with opposite
weather patterns, the two
athletes had to adjust to
many other aspects of daily
life in the U.S.
“University in Australia
is much different than in
America,” Macpherson
said. “You generally live at
home and don’t travel too
far to go to school. Where
you go to college and what
your mqjor will be is based
on an exit exam from high
school.”
McAlpine also noted dif
ferences.
“We do not have college
athletic teams in New
Zealand," McAlpine added.
“That was one major decid
ing factor in my decision to
play in the States. I wanted
to be part of a university
golf team.”
Because they are both
used to traveling for exten
sive amounts of time, being
thousands of miles away
from home feels normal.
“I am used to being far
away from home for long
periods of time,”
Macpherson said. “But,
attending the University
has definitely been a grow
ing experience for me."
As evidenced by their
early success, both players
possess the potential to
play golf long after their
time at Georgia.
“I’ve been working at
golf for too long now to
quit," Macpherson said.
“I’ve put so much hard
work and effort into becom
ing a better golfer that
doing anything else doesn’t
make much sense. I plan to
go pro alter I graduate.”