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10 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. mßmmmmmm*'^aanmmHSmaumas#kmmn)MmMmmm /: V ♦•*- ~ •,. I timmte£*M&WW * - -* • mKßmmmmmm^Ss ßWPißliiMr'" -■ - imMmmmmmMmg' n. ?'■ w-iewx&tmmtysmh • ‘..: .?•<' fe&gaißK v, jSL .. ; &dttxk jHpf ** * ■BBBBMHHMfe- ■• ; £2 flgrffi S ,^... . ; . ■ -3HP v. IS ipj 1 • 115 i“| * W | * \j r , Hr ,J>£ r H && f- r v 'fiff i R< '; ||| g ij|g? ', %jJ -‘.;‘ pjXg| <'lHi Shk9MSvvs \ j^%y 7 £ ■ ' " H -W|"d>> ■Kppp m wm . 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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.”