Fox signs $1.3 million contract with Georgia

ATHENS, Ga.(AP) " As Trey Thompkins talked about the future of Georgia basketball, the man now in charge of it gave the freshman a firm tug on the arm.

"I need you to get in great shape, and I need to you to score a lot of points," said Mark Fox, just a few hours into his tenure as the Bulldogs' head coach.

Fox smiled, but this was serious business. He's already started the selling job, knowing his success will depend largely on getting a lot more players such as Thompkins to wear the red and black.

The Bulldogs introduced Fox as their new coach Friday with the gaudy goal of transforming a moribund program into a national power.

"I'm certainly attracted to the potential for this program," said Fox, who spent the past five years as Nevada's coach, winning at least 20 games every season. "There's a terrific recruiting base in the state."

Indeed, Georgia has a wealth of high school talent, but top prospects have historically headed elsewhere when it comes time to pick a college. Thompkins is one of the few players who stayed close to home, averaging 12.6 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman.

Fox's first priority will be to make Thompkins remains at Georgia. The 6-foot-9 forward wouldn't rule out a possible transfer, since he signed with previous coach Dennis Felton and had not even heard about Fox before news of his hiring broke Thursday night.

"I don't coach Fox more than anyone else on the team," Thompkins said. "I've known him for like five hours."

Two other players, guards Zac Swansey and Troy Brewer, already announced they were seeking transfers shortly after the season ended.

Fox said he's confident he'll be able to recruit within the state, even though he's not very well known to the high school and AAU coaches who hold such sway over potential signees. With that in mind, he plans to hire an assistant with ties to the state.

Georgia athletic director Damon Evans pointed to Fox's predecessor at Nevada, Trent Johnson, who spent four years at Stanford before leading LSU to the Southeastern Conference championship in his first season at Baton Rouge.

"He's not from the South, either," Evans said. "We get caught up in that sometimes, but guys move all over and do great jobs. I think if (Connecticut's) Jim Calhoun came down South to coach, he'd do just fine."

The hiring of Fox was a surprise to those outside the interview process. Among those mentioned as possible candidates were Missouri's Mike Anderson, Clemson's Oliver Purnell and Miami's Frank Haith, but Evans settled on the 40-year-old Fox after a whirlwind courtship.

The two met in Atlanta on Thursday, and Evans offered the job a few hours later. Fox agreed to a six-year deal paying $1.3 million annually " a significant increase over Felton's $760,000-a-year and a sign of Evans' commitment to building a program that can escape the shadow of the school's powerful football team.

The school already built a new practice facility, and Evans hopes to renovate aging Stegeman Coliseum.

"We're talking about transforming and building Georgia basketball into a national power," Evans said. "Mark Fox is the right man for this incredible opportunity."

Felton was fired in January with the Bulldogs heading toward another dismal season. They finished 12-20 overall and 3-13 in the SEC under interim coach Pete Herrmann.

Fox was 123-43 in five seasons at Nevada, where he won four Western Athletic Conference championships and reached the NCAA tournament three times. The Wolf Pack reached the second round twice.

But he couldn't pass up the chance to coach in the SEC, going head-to-head with his good friend and former boss, Johnson, not to mention coaches such as Florida's Billy Donovan and Kentucky's John Calipari.

"I want to compete at the highest levels," said Fox, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, and their two young children. "Now, we have to go through the process to get there."

Fox was quickly replaced at Nevada by his associate head coach, David Carter. Fox will bring along at least one of his Wolf Pack assistants, Kwanza Johnson.

Evans said he met with five candidates, and talked with several more informally. Fox's name never surfaced in reports of the search and his hiring didn't make the sort of splash that would have been generated by someone such as Anderson, who led Missouri to the NCAA regional finals and received a new contract this week after being mentioned for the Georgia job.

Fox led Nevada to a 21-13 record this season, keeping alive his streak of 20-win seasons. The Wolf Pack struggled to replace 7-foot center JaVale McGee, who left school early and was drafted in the first round by the Washington Wizards, and lost to Texas-El Paso in the first round of the postseason College Basketball Invitational.

Evans said he's focused on the long-term growth of a program that had success under coaches such as Hugh Durham, Tubby Smith and Jim Harrick, but has made only one NCAA tournament appearance since 2002.

"It's not about winning the first press conference," Evans said. "It's about finding the right person for the University of Georgia."