RENO, Nev. — Mark McLaughlin, a nationally sought after basketball recruit who originally signed a letter of intent with Nevada in November 2007, doesn't want to play for the Wolf Pack next season now that Mark Fox has taken the coaching job at Georgia.

McLaughlin, 6-foot-5, 197-pound forward from Kenmore, Wash., has asked Nevada officials to release him from his commitment, his mother said.

"It was really disappointing," Maureen McLaughlin told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "We all have Nevada sweat shirts. We were about to enroll him in summer school. It's a tough situation. We obviously didn't want things to end up like this."

Nevada athletic director Cary Groth said she hoped to discuss the matter Monday with David Carter, a longtime assistant coach at Nevada who she named head coach on Friday hours after Fox was announced as the new coach at Georgia.

"We obviously don't want a player here if he doesn't want to be here. We're sensitive to that. But this situation is obviously different because (McLaughlin) was supposed to be with us last fall," Groth said.

McLaughlin originally signed a letter-of-intent with Nevada in November 2007. But the NCAA Clearinghouse had not ruled on his academic eligibility when semester opened prior to last season, and McLaughlin decided to enroll at New Hampton (N.H.) Prep.

McLaughlin left the prep school after the first semester when the NCAA approved his eligibility. The Inglemoor High product said then he would honor his letter-of-intent with Nevada, but things changed after Fox accepted the position at Georgia.

"We developed a relationship over 1 1/2 years with him and now he's gone," his mother said.

She said Fox spoke with her son to tell him he had accepted the Georgia job, but the coach didn't try to sway him toward playing for the Bulldogs. The elder McLaughlin said her son wouldn't follow Fox to Georgia.

"I don't think that would be appropriate," McLaughlin said.

During his introductory press conference at Georgia, Fox vowed not to "raid Nevada's cupboard" of recruits.

On Friday, Carter said he had spoken with the Wolf Pack's two other incoming recruits — Devonte Elliott and Steven Bjornstad — and they remain committed to Nevada.

The Wolf Pack has one scholarship available for the spring signing period, which opens April 15, and would add another if it releases McLaughlin from his letter-of-intent.