Wildcat Notebook: Negedu out, Dunlap and Pennell in at Arizona

It is a new era for Arizona basketball — for better or worse.

Monday’s introduction of new Wildcat coaches Russ Pennell and Mike Dunlap attempted to add some much-needed stability to a program that has been turned upside down over the past six-and-a-half months.

However, that news was overshadowed when star Wildcat recruit Emmanuel Negedu asked Lute Olson to release him from his letter of intent one day earlier.

On Sunday, Negedu told CBS Sports, “I do not picture myself at Arizona anymore. I told him I want my release.”

Yesterday, the Wildcats granted Negedu his wish and released him from his commitment, allowing him to pursue any school who may be interested in him.

Look for Negedu to possibly land in Memphis, where former UA assistant Josh Pastner landed. Negedu, a Nigerian native with no family living in the U.S., grew close to Pastner while Arizona recruited him.

Negedu, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward, was ranked as the No. 11 power forward and the No. 31 overall recruit in the nation by rivals.com when he originally signed with the school during the November Early Signing Period.

Neither new coach had much to say about Negedu’s impending departure, but both men outlined what they feel is important in order to help Arizona reclaim its elite status.

For Pennell, the word of the day was “trust.” For Dunlap, it was “compentency.”

“The No. 1 most important thing in building trust is to make sure your words and actions match,” Pennell said. “You can’t treat these kids like a statistic or a piece of meat.”

Dunlap followed up by saying that players will “dismiss everything if you’re not properly skilled.”

Dunlap joins the Wildcats after two years under George Karl with the Denver Nuggets. He has two Division II National Championships under his belt as the head coach of Metro State and earned a number of accolades while coaching in Australia.

Dunlap will bring a no-nonsense approach to Arizona’s coaching staff, as well as his vast network of connections with regard to overseas basketball talent.

In addition, he will occupy the associate head coach’s role that was formerly manned by Kevin O’Neill and Jim Rosborough.

Pennell comes to Tucson after spending the last two seasons running the Arizona Premier Basketball League in the Phoenix area. He also provided color commentary for the Arizona State University radio network during the 2007-08 season.

If he looks familiar to die-hard Wildcat fans, it’s because he served under Rob Evans for an eight-year stretch on the Arizona State sidelines.

“I love the passion here,” Pennell said. “Over the past 20 years, this program has been second to none.”

Pennell replaces Miles Simon, whose contract was not renewed two weeks ago. Dunlap fills in for O’Neill, who has been assigned to a fundraising role until the end of Arizona’s fiscal year.

Both Pennell and Dunlap will have a lot on their plates this summer. Not only will they need to find a new recruit to take Negedu’s place, but they will need to take a wait-and-see approach as Chase Budinger continues to prepare for the NBA draft on June 26.

“There really isn’t anything we can say to Chase, other than to let him know who we are and where we stand,” Pennell said.

Dunlap adds that he expects the recruiting process to be extremely enjoyable as a representative of the University of Arizona.

“Arizona and Lute Olson is an easy sell,” Dunlap said.

Pennell added that most of the recruiting takes place simply when a coach walks into a room wearing an Arizona shirt.

Of course, a successful 2008-09 campaign will be necessary in order for that shirt to still impress potential recruits.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747