Dribble Dawgs Upset Mississippi State

BASKETBALL

Gerald Robinson scored eight of his 13 points in overtime as Georgia stunned 20th-ranked Mississippi State 70-68 in overtime Saturday afternoon in Starkville.

Robinson's two foul shots with 24 seconds left in the extra period gave Georgia a 70-66 lead. After State responded with an Arnett Moultrie dunk with 14 ticks left, Robinson was fouled with just eight seconds left. Though he missed the front end of a 1and-1 free throw, Georgia hindered State's final drive up the court enough to leave guard Dee Bost with a desperation 20-footer at the final horn.

“We are really playing well, and we’re playing together – playing complete basketball; I’m truly proud of them," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "This is a good team we beat. We beat a terrific basketball team, a team we had great respect for before we came here. So, to leave here with a win, it’s very gratifying."

Freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Georgia (12-12, 3-7) with 20 points. None of those was more important than his 3-pointer with 1:08 left in overtime, giving the Dawgs a 68-66 lead. He was also instrumental in getting Georgia untracked offensively after a cold-shooting start to the game. Caldwell-Pope had 14 of his points in the first half, including four 3-point shots.

The fast pace and wide-open shooting belied the slow start to this game. It took nearly eight minutes for either squad to reach double figures, State getting there first on a 3-pointer by Bost at the 12:42, putting his team in front 12-7. Dustin Ware's jumper at the 9:24 mark got Georgia into double digits at 16-11.

The visiting Dawgs trailed early but used a barrage of 3-point shots to regroup in the first half. Caldwell-Pope sank three treys and Dustin Ware added another. Caldwell-Pope's put back of another missed 3-pointer from Robinson, however, got Georgia its only brief lead of the half at 29-28.

“State is not a team of great depth," Fox said. "We tried to force them to run the floor, and we tried to force them to defend. I don’t think that we played beautiful offense, but I think that we played pretty smart and gave ourselves a chance to win."

Bost led all scorers with 21 points. His final bucket of regulation, a driving layup with 1:39 left, was perhaps the biggest score of the game to that juncture. The foul shot that completed his 3-point play gave State (19-6, 6-4) a 58-55 lead.

Georgia responded, however, with a dunk from Donte' Williams, and after one of two foul shots from State's Renardo Sidney, Robinson tied the game at 59 on a driving layup with 28 seconds left.

The Dawgs hit the road again Wednesday with the first of two games against South Carolina. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m.

Athletic Board Approves Facility Upgrades

Three facility funding requests totaling $3.83 million were approved Wednesday at the quarterly meeting University of Georgia Athletic Board of Directors.

The largest of plans is a scoreboard control room located on the southeast club level corner within Sanford Stadium. From this location, all video boards in Georgia’s athletic facilities can be operated without having to lease or move HD equipment from venue to venue. At a projected cost of $2.6 million, a HD control room would provide the ability to produce live programming, produce special events and shoulder programming for television and digital distribution.

The Rankin Smith Academic Center will also see a renovation to its Callaway Room at an estimated price of $750,000. Originally designed as a banquet or large study hall, the Callaway Room will be broken off into rooms to allow for a more individualized study and counseling place. The room will be able to hold approximately 200 more one-on-one and small group sessions per week.

Lastly, the South Side SkySuites in Sanford Stadium will be upgraded with new furniture before the start of the 2012 football season. Opened in 1994 with no major furniture upgrades since, the new furniture will address the functionality of the space while maximizing seating and viewing opportunities. To furnish the original 30 suites will cost around $480,000.

“The thing that will really affect the student-athletes the most is obviously the Rankin Smith Center,” said Athletic Director Greg McGarity. “Activity in that building is going on six days a week. It’s already used so much, and this just adds to the ability to service our student-athletes. The others are more geared to the fan experience, as far as suite holders that are paying significant dollars and that is like upgrading your house. We are going to have to do that every 10 years, and the time has come to do that. The other makes our operations more effective and efficient. We don’t have to rent equipment anymore. We have our own studio. It is going to be endless the ways it will help us and the University too.”

Also presented to the board was an academic report by Faculty Athletics Representative David Shipley. Shipley announced Georgia’s nominees for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship and Brad Davis Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship. Cross country runner J.P. Hackney and swimmer Wendy Trott serve as the McWhorter nominees while volleyball’s Kathleen Gates and football’s Aron White are nominated for the latter.

Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services Ted White provided more insight into Georgia student-athlete academics while Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Jim Booz highlighted recent NCAA legislation. The auditor’s report was also presented to the members.

Three Freshmen Dismissed From Team

FOOTBALL

Three University of Georgia freshman football players have been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules according to an announcement by Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.

Sanford Seay of Leesburg, Nick Marshall of Rochelle, and Chris Sanders of Tucker were dismissed Friday morning after meeting with Richt.

Seay was redshirted in 2011, Marshall played mostly special teams, and Sanders played in the first three games before being sidelined with an injury the remainder of the season.

“It’s a privilege to play college football and to be a part of this team and University,” said Richt. “Along with that privilege comes certain responsibilities. Mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes. Going forward, we are committed to assisting them find opportunities where they can continue their education.”

Senior All Stars & Combine Invitees

FOOTBALL

Seven Georgia football players have been invited to play in post-season all-star games while seven have also received invitations to the annual NFL Combine.

Cornerback and Paul Hornung Award winner Brandon Boykin of Fayetteville, punter Drew Butler of Duluth, center Ben Jones of Centreville, Alabama, and offensive lineman Cordy Glenn of Riverdale will play in the Senior Bowl game in Mobile, Alabama, Saturday, January 28th.

Placekicker Blair Walsh of Boca Raton, Florida, defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson of Statesboro, and fullback Bruce Figgins of Columbus will participate in the East-West Shrine Game, Saturday, January 21st, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Boykin, Butler, Glenn, Walsh, Tyson, Jones, and Justin Anderson of Ocilla have been invited to the NFL Combine which will be held in Indianapolis February 22nd - 28th.

Top Dawgs Returning For Senior Season

FOOTBALL

Georgia football coach Mark Richt confirmed Friday that no other Georgia players will leave early for the NFL draft. Tight end Orson Charles announced earlier this week that he will forgo his senior season.

“Today is great day for Georgia,” Richt said. “We have a lot of good news today. Quite a few guys submitted papers for the draft to see if it was time to make the decision to fulfill their dream of playing in the NFL. These men decided to stay at Georgia. This group of players has tremendous leadership and talent and has played some tremendous football in the Southeastern Conference. I am thrilled that they have made this decision.”

Among those returning for their senior season is safety Bacarri Rambo, who started all 13 game for the Dawgs, registering 55 tackles, including 34 solo tops. He also led the SEC with eight interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.

“It means a lot to come back and play with these guys next year,” Rambo said. “Many of these guys gave up their dream of playing in the NFL just to come back. We have a lot of leaders and a lot of really talented players with experience coming back next year. We have guys who are going to go out there and work hard and help lead the young guys and show them the Georgia way. I’m really excited to play with these guys one more year.”

“Every man in this room came to Georgia with dreams and goals of winning championships,” added cornerback Sanders Commings. “That is the reason that I decided to stay here at Georgia. With the leadership in this room we realized that the opportunity of achieving those dreams are great and I am excited to be able to be a part of it.”

Carlton Thomas, who finished the season with 361 yards and two touchdowns, added that the decision to return for his senior year was a team decision.

“Coming back was really a team decision,” Thomas added. “You see all of this talent coming back. There is lot of up side to the defensive side of the ball and we still have a lot of talent on the offense. We’re coming back with maturity, experience and a lot to prove. Why not come back and get what everyone came here to get, a championship? Everyone wanted to come back for the team and to finish business.”

Junior snapper Ty Frix noted that as a lifelong Georgia fan, he is excited about next season and the chance to continue to be a part of the Dawg community.

“I think we want to win,” Frix said. “I think that is why everyone wanted to come back. You can look at last season and say it didn’t end well as it could have or didn’t start well as it should have, but we had a great year. We did a lot of things that a lot of people didn’t think we could do and we won a lot more games than people thought we should have. I think we will build off of that going into next season. If we don’t win, then these guys stayed for no reason. These guys buying in keeps everyone accountable and it’s going to make winning that much more attainable.”