Accusations Center on Harrick Jr.

Former Georgia basketball player Tony Cole has accused assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr. of paying his expenses and committing academic fraud before and after Cole was enrolled at the school.

In an interview with ESPN that aired Thursday night, Cole said Harrick paid $300 for a phone bill that Cole ran up while staying with the mother of a friend in the summer of 2001.

Cole was suspended after 16 games last season when he was charged with sexual assault. The charges were dropped, but he wasn’t reinstated.

Eva Harris, whom Cole stayed with, said a man who gave his name as Jim Harrick called her and offered to pay any expenses she incurred while Cole was there. When the phone bill came, money was sent to pay for it, she said.

Later, when his enrollment was delayed, Cole stayed in area hotels for about two weeks, running up about $1,700 in charges. He said Harrick paid the bills.

Georgia Athletic Director Vince Dooley said he takes accusations “very seriously.”

He added, “Tony Cole has been asked on previous occasions if he had received anything that could be considered extra benefits and a document has been signed by him indicating that he had not.”

Cole also said Harrick took two correspondence courses for him from Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., receiving an “A” in both. When Cole earlier took the classes himself at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., he received a “D” in both courses.