THE TEN AT 10

1. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray drew a lot of attention for his decision go to Oklahoma for some extra training rather than to the beach for spring break. But he wasn’t the only Bulldog breaking from college tradition.

Two groups of Georgia football players took trips abroad as missionaries for Athens Church last week. Brothers John and Nathan Theus and fellow offensive lineman Preston Mobley joined a group on a Christian mission to Haiti. At the same time, Michael Bennett, Hutson Mason, Connor Norman and Lucas Redd were among a group that went to the Dominican Republic.

Bennett, we’re told, actually baptized a man while on the trip. “What a week in the DR. God is good,” Bennett tweeted upon his return.

2. Speaking of Murray, the time he spent in Norman, Okla., this past week was extremely useful. Upon his return to Athens this past Friday, he tweeted , “Probably one of the most productive weeks in my life when it comes to getting better. @georgewhitfield is a true QB guru."

George Whitfield is a “private quarterback builder” based in California who has trained Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Ben Roethlisberger and Johnny Manziel, among others. He was in Norman to help prepare Landry Jones for the upcoming draft and took on a few other private tutoring jobs while he was there, including Murray.

I haven’t had a chance to talk to Murray about his experience just yet but I will sometime this week. In the meantime he granted an audience to Bruce Feldman of cbssports.com and told him all the things he thought the experience helped him with. Chief among those was apparently throwing with more upper-body torque. That’s one heck of a note considering Murray has managed more than 10,000 yards passing and 95 touchdowns with his previous torque. It will be interesting to see how the new insights might benefit Murray -- and what quarterback coach Mike Bobo thinks about them.

3. Georgia football returns to the practice field on Tuesday after a week off for spring break. It is a continuation of the format coach Mark Richt established a few years ago in which the team practices for a week, takes a week off, then comes to complete the rest of its allotted 15 practice dates.

That worked out well for at least two players. Running backs Keith Marshall (hamstring) and Brandon Harton (knee) are both expected to return from injuries that kept them sidelined the first week of practice.

Most importantly, all indications are no Bulldogs ran into trouble during the vacation. At least athletic director Greg McGarity said had not heard about any discipline issues as of Monday night. This time last year Georgia had four players run afoul of team policies during the spring break. That led to missed playing time in the fall.

4. Georgia has announced the dates for “UGA Days,” its annual speaking tour featuring Richt and other coaches.  This year’s tour will include 12 cities in four states and begins on April 9 in Columbus, Ga. And instead of ending with the Greater Atlanta Bulldog Club as has long been the tradition, the tour will wrap up this summer in Gwinnett County on July 29^th. The Atlanta stop will be on May 15.

Here’s all the dates and locations: April 9 – Columbus; April 11 – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; April 18 – Macon; April 23 – Jacksonville, Fla.; April 24 – Tifton; May 7 – Chattanooga, Tenn.; May 8 – Nashville, Tenn.; May 9 – Augusta, Ga.; May 15 – Atlanta; May 22 – Statesboro; May 23 – Savannah; July 29 – Duluth, Ga.

5. Most of the buzz this week will be generated by the football players that are leaving Georgia rather than the ones that are coming back. UGA will host its annual Pro Day on Thursday. Eighteen players will be working out for NFL scouts and front-office personnel, including potential first-rounders Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree and John Jenkins. Here's the other participats registered to work out: WR Marlon Brown, DB Sanders Commings, SN Ty Frix, NG Kwame Geathers, LB Mike Gilliard, NG John Jenkins, DL Abry Jones, LB Jarvis Jones, WR Tavarres King, PK Jamie Lindley, LB Alec Ogletree, DB Bacarri Rambo, QB Jon Richt, LB Christian Robinson, RB Richard Samuel, DB Branden Smith, DL/LB Cornelius Washington and DB Shawn Williams.

The session will be broadcast on ESPN3.com.

6. Sad that March Madness has begun without any teams from the state of Georgia being represented in the 68-team field. In fact, the only state team represented anywhere in the postseason is Mercer, which will play in the NIT. The Bulldogs, you might recall, defeated the Bears 58-49 in Athens the week before Christmas.

Georgia (15-17) missing out on the Big Dance means it has made the tournament just once in coach Mark Fox’s four years as coach. But that doesn’t mean Fox is in danger of losing his job. He’s not.

McGarity is very much in Fox’s corner and believes he can get the job done over the long haul. And “long haul” is a key phrase there. Two years ago, when McGarity extended Fox’s contract to five years, he did so saying he thought there was still much work to be done. He confided to me then that rebuilding the basketball program was a project that required at least six years and that one of the most important things needed was stability.

At one point the Bulldogs went through four coaches in eight years . Fox’s ability to coach up his teams and develop players is evident. Next year will be Year 5, so it should be a good indicator

7. Of course, much of next year’s success on the basketball court will rest upon the decision of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to either return for his junior season or turn pro. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, who averaged 18.5 points per game and led the Bulldogs in 12 of 20 statistical categories, on Monday was named the SEC Player of the Year. Caldwell-Pope had received the same distinction from the SEC’s coaches the previous week in Nashville.

Certainly, Caldwell-Pope’s return would place the Bulldogs among the SEC favorites next season and make an NCAA tournament berth a minimum expectation. But what if would the expectations be if he leaves?

Despite his incredible production, I don’t think it’s necessarily back to square one for Fox. Though he played a minor role this season, I believe freshman Kenny Gaines is a star in the making. Together with signee Juwan Parker of Tulsa, they should be able to combine to give Georgia 13 to 18 points per night. The improvement of point guard Charles Mann and the development of the Bulldogs' post players should help shore up more of that production.

Granted, the SEC was not nearly the basketball conference it has been in the past and certainly will be better next year. But a stronger overall foundation of depth should keep the Bulldogs from having to be completely re-made again. We’ll see.

8. Carrying the torch for basketball not only for UGA but for the state of Georgia is coach Andy Landers' Lady Bulldogs. No. 14-ranked Georgia (25-6) was awarded the No. 4 seed in the Spokane, Wash., regional and will face 13th-seeded Montana (13-7) in the first round.

The Lady Bulldogs might could have avoided being sent out West had they not been dismantled by Kentucky 60-38 in the SEC tournament semifinals. But Landers doesn't seem to mind having to travel across the continent to play.

"We've been as successful (out West) as we've been anywhere," said Landers, who has led the Bulldogs to berths in 30 of the last 32 years. "The only thing I don't like about it is it makes it difficult for fans and the players' families to come see us play. But we're happy to play anywhere."

9. Concerns about the Georgia baseball team (8-12, 0-3 SEC) were ratcheted up this past weekend as the Bulldogs opened SEC play by getting swept by Texas A&M (14-7). Georgia will try to get the season going in the other direction when it plays host to Furman on Tuesday and Alabama this weekend.

Coach David Perno remains calm and confident that a turnaround is imminent. “I know who we are now and have figured out what’s best for this team,” he said after Sunday’s loss. “We’re going to have to grind it out and I know some good days are ahead of us. . . . We’ll revisit our goals and try for a fresh start.”

10. This & that: Virginia Whitehead, long known in UGA circles as “The Ticket Lady,” passed away on March 15 in Athens. She was 94. Including her time as a student, Whitehead worked for the athletic department in various capacities for 47 years. She was the Bulldogs’ ticket manager from 1943 to 1983, when she retired. Funeral services for Whitehead were held Tuesday morning at Athens First United Methodist Church and she was laid to rest next to her husband in Oconee Hill Cemetery. . . . The No. 6-ranked women’s gymnastics team will head to the SEC Championships in Arkansas coming off a season-high score and the second-highest road mark of any team this year against N.C. State. The Gym Dogs (8-6-1) beat the Wolfpack 197.800-196.000 Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum. That was the team’s highest regular-season road score since a 197.825 at Alabama in 2004 and a 49.625 on the balance beam, which ties the second-highest mark in program history.