Oct. 2, 2007

George Mason men's basketball head coach Jim Larranaga has announced that redshirt senior forward Jesus Urbina has elected to leave George Mason and pursue a career playing professional basketball in Spain. Urbina, in his fifth year of eligibility, has already earned a degree from Mason in Communications.

"Jesus has been a valuable member of our program over the past four years," Larranaga said. "He has been a strong influence both in our locker room and in our community. We wish him only the best in his future endeavors."

Urbina played for the Venezuelan National Team this past summer, competing in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and facing NBA player. While there, he drew the notice of several Spanish-based professional teams.

Urbina played in 21 games last season with six starts. He was seventh on the team in rebounding with 2.5 per game and he had four blocks and five steals. He averaged 1.1 points per game in 8.8 minutes per contest. Urbina missed the 2005-06 season with both a knee injury and a groin injury, but he was in uniform for the Final Four.

As a sophomore in 2004-05, Urbina played in all 29 games with two starts. He averaged 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds while playing 10.9 minutes per game. As a freshman in 2003-04, he played in 29 games with five starts. He averaged 9.4 minutes and put up 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.