Negedu was upset by changes at UA.

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Freed from his commitment to the Arizona basketball program, Emmanuel Negedu already has a list of four schools he is considering.

One of them is Memphis, where former UA assistant coach Josh Pastner departed for last week. The others are Tennessee, Indiana and Georgia Tech, according to Jason Smith, Negedu's high school coach at Brewster Academy.

Tuesday's development means the UA has two open scholarships for the 2008-09 season.

Negedu was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but his host parent, Frank Quirk, and Smith both said Pastner's departure and other UA changes were the primary reasons for Negedu's request.

However, Smith said Pastner has been consistently trying to re-recruit Negedu for Arizona over the recent weeks, and noted that Negedu was previously recruited by the Tigers. He said only Georgia Tech has not been involved with Negedu before.

"I can't stress enough that Josh has been re-recruiting Emmanuel to Arizona," Smith said. "He tried to convey to Emmanuel that, "you developed a relationship with me — I'm sure you can develop it with the new assistants.'"

Smith said he also told Negedu, "you're not going to follow Josh to Memphis," but acknowledged the team has an appeal for the Top 40 power forward from Nigeria.

"When you consider the way they play, it's a very good fit for Emmanuel," Smith said.

Pastner, who said he could not comment because Negedu is now a recruitable athlete, also showed signs during his final weekend on UA's campus that he was recruiting for Arizona, even after he had accepted the Memphis job.

Pastner wore UA gear outside the Arizona Cactus Classic tournament and showed committed recruit Abdul Gaddy around campus as well as prospective recruit Mike Moser of Portland, Ore. Moser said he was impressed that Pastner spoke highly of UA's future, even as he prepared to leave.

Pastner's strong bond with Negedu is clear, however. Pastner was the first college coach to contact Negedu upon his arrival in the United States in January 2005, and he kept in close contact with Negedu last season during UA coach Lute Olson's leave of absence.

The Boston-based Quirk, who along with his wife has become a host parent for Negedu, said that relationship had a lot to do with Negedu's uneasiness about Arizona.

"It was the coaching changes, that was what was driving it," Quirk said. "Josh was close to him. Emmanuel has a strong sense of loyalty. Arizona was always there from the start. He felt the connection there. All that sort of wasn't there anymore with all the coaching changes. That's really the gist of it."

Smith said Negedu is also a "very emotional kid" who initially made some public comments he shouldn't have, discussing an unhappy visit to the UA in February and how he felt betrayed by all the changes. Smith also said if there was a fractured phone conversation last week between Negedu and Olson, when Negedu first told Olson of his wishes, it ended because of technology.

"If you've ever been to Wolfeboro, N.H. (where Brewster is), you'll know the cell phone reception is not the best," said Smith, whose cell phone call with a Star reporter was lost at one point. "I'm sure that call was dropped."

When Olson and Negedu met in person on Sunday in Boston, Olson declined to give Negedu a release from his letter of intent, according to Mark Adams, a former traveling-team coach of Negedu's.

Olson was "fair," Quirk said, adding that the UA coach was just trying to change Negedu's mind.

"He gave a good shot to see if he could talk Emmanuel out of where he was at," Quirk said. "Probably when he realized it wasn't going to happen, then they called and said they were going to give it."

Quick said he spoke with UA athletic director Jim Livengood, who told him he would confer with Olson and then came back and offered the release.

Livengood, the only school official who signed the release, declined to say how the decision came about or if Olson agreed to the release.

"I had discussions with everyone involved," Livengood said Tuesday. "The decision was made because it's in the best interests of all parties involved."

Livengood could have given Negedu a non-release without recruiting restrictions, meaning he could have gone elsewhere but also lose a year of eligibility. Or, Negedu could have received nothing, which would have bound him to the UA for four years unless he would have appealed successfully, attained a two-year junior college degree or left for professional basketball.

Negedu's release created two open scholarships the Wildcats have for next season. Kyle Fogg, a 6-foot-3-inch combo guard from Brea, Calif., said Tuesday he had signed a letter of intent for UA earlier in the day.

The spring signing period ends today but recruits can still commit and be offered a financial-aid package, which binds the school but not the athlete.