Hoops and Diamond Notes
If Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton was hoping his summer would pass without incident following last year's tumultuous preseason, he was unfortunately wrong.
Tuesday morning's arrest of senior guard Billy Humphrey on a pair of alcohol-related charges threw a significant monkey wrench into what had otherwise been a quiet off-season for the Bulldog basketball team, still basking in the glow of their recent SEC Tournament crown.
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While Felton has said that he will wait until he has all the facts before imposing any kind of punishment on Humphrey, it doesn't look particularly good.
UGA Athletic Association rules call for second-time alcohol-related offenders to receive a minimum 15-game suspension.
Expect Felton to make a ruling on the situation soon.
Swansey competes in China
Sophomore guard Zac Swansey spent most of May touring with Reach USA, a collection of collegiate basketball players who played exhibition games in mainland China.
However, the trip was cut short after the devastating earthquake in the country, which began a three-day period of mourning after tens of thousands of people were killed.
Other SEC players participating in the event included Arkansas' Michael Sanchez, Elgin Bailey from Mississippi State and Jermaine Beal from Vanderbilt.
Preseason NIT teams close to be being set
According to published reports, the field for the 2008 Preseason NIT is now set.
Georgia is scheduled to be one of four teams participating at Purdue, along with Loyola (Ill.) and Eastern Michigan.
Arizona, Oklahoma and Boston College will be the other three host sites with other participating teams tentatively slated to include Santa Clara, Drake, Davidson, James Madison, St. John's, Cornell , Alabama-Birmingham, New Mexico State, and Arkansas State.
Baseball team returns home
The Georgia baseball team arrived in Athens at approximately 3 p.m. Thursday after dropping Wednesday's 6-1 decision to Fresno State Game 3 of the College World Series championship series.
Approximately 100 fans welcomed the team upon their arrival at Foley Field.
"As hard as this team fought and as much as it accomplished, we didn't get the job done," Georgia coach David Perno said. "It would have been the best team ever if we had gotten the job done, but we just didn't."
Georgia finished the year 45-25.
The waiting begins
Now that the season is over, the Bulldogs wait to see which members of the current team will forgo their senior year and sign with their respective major league club.
Junior shortstop Gordon Beckham is a given, having been chosen by the Chicago White Sox with the eighth pick in the draft.
According to contracts of recent draftees picked at that position, Beckham can be expected to receive a signing bonus of perhaps $5 million.
Other current underclassmen with choices to make include pitchers Trevor Holder (10th round, Florida), Stephen Dodson (10th round, Colorado) and Nathan Moreau (12th round, Baltimore).
Bulldog duo honored
In case you missed it, Ryan Peisel and Beckham were the only two Bulldogs named to the College World Series All-Tournament team.
Peisel, incidentally, made the team as the designated hitter. The All-Tournament third baseman was Fresno State's Tommy Mendonca, who was also named the tourney MVP.