ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Georgia basketball program got a big boost when the Bulldogs recruited Cedric Henderson, but it appears that acquisition is creating problems.
Henderson, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Marietta, Ga., is the Bulldogs' leading scorer, but he also is reported to be the main reason Georgia's basketball program is under investigation by the NCAA.
Henderson wound up at Georgia after first saying he was going to Louisville and then, after saying he was going to Georgia, apparently planning to go to Carson Newman before changing his mind again. He did not receive his high school diploma until this past fall and enrolled at Georgia in the winter quarter, making his debut for the Bulldogs on Dec. 11.
Tennessee basketball coach Don DeVoe said Sunday he knows 'for a fact' that Georgia violated the rule on the number of contacts the school was allowed to make with Henderson while recruiting him. 'It's been one and a half years since those violations occurred and nobody has done anything about it.'
The Atlanta Constitution reported Tuesday it had learned, through court documents, that the NCAA has been investigating 27 alleged violations in Georgia's basketball program, although specific violations were not known.
Documents filed with the Georgia Supreme Court said the NCAA notified the university last Oct. 22 that it was investigating its athletic department. That investigation was said to involve 34 allegations of rules violations -- five in the football program and two in women's basketball.
Most of the other violations allegedly are in connection with the recruiting of Henderson.
The NCAA investigations into Georgia's football and women's basketball program have already been completed. The football program was penalized the loss of seven of its scholarships in each of the next two years, but the women's program was found not guilty of any rules violations.
Georgia, on Oct. 30, requested an extension on the deadline to respond to the alleged violations and the NCAA extended that deadline until Jan. 25. However, it has been reported that Georgia still has not finished an internal investigation into the accusations.
When Georgia does file its official response, the case goes to the NCAA Infractions Committee which is scheduled to hold its next meeting in February.
Georgia Athletic Director Vince Dooley says NCAA regulations prohibit him from commenting on the investigation 'at this time.'
'I don't know where the specific numbers came from,' said a university spokesman. 'Court actions (brought by several media organizations seeking to have the school make public documents pertaining to the investigation of the football and women's basketball programs) are being handled for us by the state attorney general's office and we don't know what might be included in the filings.
'However, it is believed that the 27 figure was released by (Clark County Superior Court) Judge James Barrow last week when he ruled that we had to make the documents public.'
The Georgia Supreme Court Monday granted the university a stay from Barrow's order until Thursday afternoon, an action a spokesman said was taken to give the court more time to study the matter.
