April 21, 2011

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University sophomore Mangisto Arop has been granted his release to pursue his collegiate basketball career elsewhere, Bulldog head coach Mark Few confirmed Thursday.

"Manny is an awesome individual, a great teammate, a great guy who just wants the opportunity to go play more somewhere else," Few said. "He's been great around our team, our staff and my kids, but he thinks there might be opportunities to play more at another place. He's going to explore those opportunities. We wish him the best."

Arop, a native of Sudan whose family moved to Canada when he was 9-years-old, appeared in 28 games this past season with eight starts, averaging 15.8 minutes/game, 4.6 ppg and 2.9 rpg. As a freshman he appeared in 31 games off the bench, averaging 11.9 minutes/game, 3.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg. He suffered a broken foot in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament as a freshman, sidelining him for the remainder of post-season play.