ATHENS, Ga. -- Georgia women's basketball star Tasha
Humphrey will be suspended for the first six games after being
charged with underage possession of alcohol.
Humphrey, who averaged 20.1 points and 9.1 rebounds last season,
will miss key games against national powers Stanford and Rutgers.
She'll be eligible to return for a Dec. 3 game at Georgia Tech.
Coach Andy Landers said Tuesday that university policy required
him to suspend Humphrey for three games -- 10 percent of the team's
schedule. He decided to double the penalty to underscore the
severity of her actions at a time when there is a school crackdown on
alcohol abuse.
The 20-year-old Humphrey was arrested by Athens-Clarke County
police on Sept. 30 on a charge of underage alcohol possession. She
was jailed on the misdemeanor charge for less than an hour before
being released on $500 bond.
"This situation has never occurred in the 28 years I've been
here," Landers said. "I want to make sure she understands and
everyone else understands that it's just flat-out not acceptable."
The 6-foot-3 junior was a third-team All-American last season,
leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 23-9 record and the regional
semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Humphrey underwent knee surgery during the offseason to clear up
a lingering problem and isn't expected to be at full strength when
Georgia holds its first practice Friday night. However, Landers
expects her to be cleared soon by the team's medical staff.
Georgia opens the season Nov. 12 against Rutgers at the Tip-off
Classic in Norman, Okla., and has another key game Nov. 26 at home
against Stanford. Humphrey also will miss games against North
Carolina A&T (Nov. 15), Davidson (Nov. 19), Georgia Southern (Nov.
21) and Memphis (Nov. 29).
In addition, she will be required to do extra work off the
court.
"This disappoints me and I'm sure a lot of other people
greatly," Landers said. "We don't have a great deal of [rules].
The reason we don't have a lot of rules is that we've not had a lot
of unruly people."