As Georgia coach Dennis Felton leads his Bulldogs into Baton Rouge for the first time since last year’s allegations, he has goals to improve his team, both long and short term.
Trying to get a key road win in the Southeastern Conference is tough enough, but moving to rid a program of problems brought on by the Jim Harrick regime makes things even tougher for Felton, who vowed to clean up the program shortly after he was hired.
Felton, who was hired in April 2003, has much to clean.
Georgia’s well-documented NCAA troubles began after Tony Cole, a Baton Rouge native who prepped at Glen Oaks High, was kicked off the team last year after accusations for aggravated assault with intent to rape.
Cole made his own accusations against both Harrick and his son and former assistant coach, Jim Harrick Jr.
Cole said Harrick Jr. did the work for correspondence courses that helped him improve his grades before he was admitted to Georgia.
Cole said in college, Harrick Jr. paid his $300 telephone and $1,200 hotel bills, did his school work for him and gave him an A in a class he never attended. Cole also said he used Harrick Sr.’s credit card to buy a television.
The Bulldogs fired Harrick Jr. on June 30, less than a week after the program began its in-house investigation. When forward Chris Daniels gave credibility to an accusation when he admitted he got an A from Harrick Jr. for a class he never attended, Harrick Sr. was compelled to resign.
But Harrick’s dismissal from Georgia has not immediately rid the Bulldogs’ program from its problems.
Former starters Chris Daniels and Rashad Wright also were in the class and got A’s. They were declared ineligible March 10 for academic fraud and unethical conduct.
The school also was prompted to declare itself ineligible for both the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Tournaments.
The timing of the uncovering of the allegations was most disheartening for the Bulldogs faithful and innocent players.
The Bulldogs were red-hot near the end of the season, defeating conference rival No. 3 Florida in a thrilling 82-81 upset.
They had won 17 of their last 22 games and could have seeded as high as No. 3 in the NCAA tournament.
Violations have forced other Bulldogs off the team this season as well.
Freshman forward Corey Gibbs was suspended nine games from this season for violating NCAA rules about extra benefits.
Gibbs was caught obtaining books and supplies from the university bookstore above his allowable limit, merchandise which he later sold. Gibbs was forced to sit out until Dec. 30.
Felton kicked center Steve Thomas off the team.
Thomas, along with Cole, was charged for sexual assault on campus last year, but the school did not say if Cole was dismissed from the team for a related charge.
Despite Georgia’s problems, LSU coach John Brady said Georgia is much better off than the first LSU team he coached, pointing out that the Bulldogs won more than 20 games last year and has more scholarship players than Brady had when he took over the Tigers after the 1997 season.
Brady faced a similar task to Felton in his first year, having to deal with a limited number of players on scholarship.
“Nobody called me and sent me any roses when we were dressing eight scholarship players,” Brady said. “This league is unforgiving.”