Georgia’s Thompkins decides not to transfer

ATHENS —- Highly regarded Georgia basketball player Trey Thompkins, who had considered transferring in the wake of the Bulldogs’ coaching change, said Wednesday he is staying put.

Georgia’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer as a freshman last season, Thompkins reiterated previous comments that the January firing of coach Dennis Felton made him question his future. But he said for the first time that he is committed to playing for new coach Mark Fox.

“Coach Fox and I are communicating very, very well,” Thompkins said. “Our relationship had a lot to do with my decision. We talked about it, and I decided I want to stay.”

Thompkins, one of the most highly recruited prospects to sign with Georgia in the past decade, said he likes Fox’s “intensity and ability to be approachable.” He added that “personal family reasons” also contributed to his decision.

Fox said in a separate interview that Thompkins recently told him he won’t transfer after earlier expressing “some legitimate concerns.”

Thompkins, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman.

“I had a good feeling about [what Thompkins’ decision would be],” Fox said, “but I wanted him to feel his dreams could come true [here]. … We’re going to need him to score on a team not loaded with scoring.”