Will the madness ever end? Man, I hope not. So much for those top 10 aspirations... <img border="0" alt="[laugh]" title="" src="graemlins/laughing.gif" />
Per the Atl. Journal-Constitution...
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Georgia basketball coach Jim Harrick said Tuesday that signees Alexander Johnson and Julius Lamptey have failed to qualify academically and probably won't play for the Bulldogs this coming season.
With the uncertain future of starting center Steve Thomas, the Bulldogs face the possibility of entering this coming season with only one player taller than 6 feet 6 -- rising junior forward Chris Daniels. A third signee, center Larry Turner of Milledgeville, was denied admission last month and has since enrolled at Oklahoma.
Thomas and backup point guard Tony Cole are scheduled to stand trial next month on felony charges of attempted rape and aggravated assault. UGA football player Brandon Williams also faces felony charges that stem from a January incident in which a UGA co-ed said she was raped in Cole's dormitory room.
Johnson, 6 feet 9, was widely regarded the state's top basketball prospect last year, after averaging 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots at Dougherty High School. He chose the Bulldogs over Alabama, North Carolina and Cincinnati. Harrick says Johnson may have an eyesight problem that affected his ability to read standardized tests.
"He's been deemed disabled by an optometrist," said Harrick, who was attending the Peach State Jam basketball tournament in Augusta. "They're trying to get that corrected so he can read the test. He's pretty close to passing. They found out his sight was really hindering him in reading the test."
Lamptey, 7 feet and 290 pounds, was ranked the nation's No. 10 center by rivals.com, averaging 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots as a senior at Northeast High School in Oklahoma City, Okla. He also was recruited by Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.
"Lamptey is going to prep school," Harrick said.
Harrick said former Berkmar High guard Wayne Arnold, the AJC's state player of the year in 2001, has passed a summer school course and will enroll this fall. Former Berkmar High player Clark Williams, a former Ohio State signee, also will join the team as a walk-on this fall.
Meanwhile, Harrick said the Bulldogs have scoured Europe the past few weeks and may have located a couple of post players who could enroll this fall. Harrick declined to identify the players. If Johnson or Lamptey earn qualifying ACT or SAT scores this fall, they could enroll at Georgia in January and be eligible for the second half of the season.
Georgia returns its top seven players from last year's team, co-champions of the SEC's Eastern Division, and adds N.C. State transfer Damien Wilkins. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 7 nationally in a recent ESPN.com preseason poll, ahead of all other SEC teams.
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<small>[ July 16, 2002, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: JoltinJacket ]</small>
