COLLEGE BASKETBALL Georgia pins scandal on actions of Harrick Jr.

The university is trying to reinstate two players.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) -- In a letter to the NCAA, Georgia blamed former assistant basketball coach Jim Harrick Jr. for the academic fraud scandal that rocked the program, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today.
Amy Chisolm, the university's compliance director, accused Harrick Jr. in the April 14 letter of lying about his teaching credentials and asking two former players to lie about their participation in a physical education course. The school seeks to have the players, Chris Daniels and Rashad Wright, reinstated.
The newspaper received a copy of the letter to Julie Roe, the NCAA's director of student-athlete reinstatement, under Georgia's Open Records law.
The scandal led to Harrick Jr.'s suspension and the resignation of his father, head coach Jim Harrick, earlier this year.
Misled
In the letter, Chisolm said that before Harrick Jr. began teaching "Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball" in 2001, he provided physical education department head Paul Schempp with a resume and course materials he claimed he produced for a course he taught while coaching at Marshall. He also told Schempp that he taught a similar course at San Diego State.
Georgia officials later discovered that "Harrick Jr. did not teach any course at Marshall University and only taught a one-hour PE course in 1990 at San Diego State," the letter said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Harrick Jr. couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
The assistant coach told investigators a student had to receive 425 points for an "A," with points awarded by going to class or attending Bulldogs' practices or games.
Daniels and Wright, two starters who were declared ineligible March 10 because of academic fraud, told investigators they attended class regularly during the early part of the semester but quit attending class when Harrick Jr. told them they could get credit by going to practice.
Both Daniels and Wright received A's, as did former player Tony Cole, who blew the whistle on the course after he was dropped from the team for other reasons.
In her letter, Chisolm said Daniels and Wright "unknowingly received preferential treatment" in the class and "did not commit academic fraud."
Chisolm said she did not know when the NCAA would send an official letter of inquiry into the matter.