Dec. 28, 2008

George Mason men's basketball head coach Jim Larranaga has announced that sophomore forward Vlad Moldoveanu has elected to leave Mason and he will either transfer to another college or pursue a professional playing career in Europe.

"Vlad is a wonderful young man and we wish him well," Larranaga said. "I know his coaches and teammates will miss him. We want Vlad to be able to reach the goals he has set for himself and will continue to follow his career."

Moldoveanu played in 31 games as a freshman with four starts. He averaged 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game and he was 16 of 20 from the free throw line. He averaged 11.4 minutes per game and had a career-high nine rebounds in his collegiate debut against Vermont.

This season Moldoveanu missed two games due to injury and has appeared in seven contests. In 10 minutes per game, he is once again averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds and he is fifth on the team in 3-pointers. He set a career high with 12 points in the season's home opener against Brown, draining three 3-pointers in the contest.

Moldoveanu has had a lot of success playing against international competition. Two years ago, he was named MVP of the U-18 European Championships playing for Romania. This past summer playing for the Romanian U-20 National Team, he averaged 19.3 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field.