Abele, a junior, moved to the states from his native Latvia over the summer. He says his goal is to someday make it to the NBA, just like Andris Biedrins, his countryman who plays for the Golden State Warriors.

“When I found out [12] days ago, it was a really sad situation,” Mikalauskas said. “I felt terrible, but at the same time I’m excited to become a professional now.”

On Wednesday, former Virginia forward Lars Mikalauskas told The Daily Progress that he has given up hope of returning to the program.

On Thursday, big man Lars Mikalauskas made his first public comments since Monday’s announcement that he had been booted from the Virginia basketball team. As Mikalauskas talked during a brief interview, one thing was obvious — he was still in shock.

“I was extremely sorry to hear about the situation with Lars,” said Ryan Pettinella, speaking by phone from Italy. “He was a good friend and a great teammate.”

On Tuesday, a day after UVa coach Dave Leitao announced that Mikalauskas would no longer be a member of the program, sources told The Daily Progress that “The Pride of Lithuania” planned to return to the states early next week and go through an appeals process with the university. The exact nature of his appeal is not known.

On Monday evening, UVa coach Dave Leitao officially issued Lars Mikalauskas his walking papers.

Virginia big man Tunji Soroye wants to return for a fifth year, and the UVa coaching staff would like to have him back. However, a “Tunji Time” redux is still up in the air according to Virginia coach Dave Leitao.