Mikalauskas finished at Virginia

By Whitey Reid

Published: August 27, 2008

On Wednesday, former Virginia forward Lars Mikalauskas told The Daily Progress that he has given up hope of returning to the program.
Mikalauskas, kicked off the team by coach Dave Leitao last week, will be holding a press conference today at the Blue Ridge School at 3 p.m. The
6-foot-8 forward, nicknamed “The Pride of Lithuania,” plans to address his abrupt dismissal from the team and his future plans.
Mikalauskas, who was expected to be the team’s starting center this season, said the event is open to the public.
“Everything just happened so fast that I never had the chance to say goodbye to so many of the people who have helped me during my three years here, including the fans,” said Mikalauskas, whose return from a shoulder injury spurred a late-season resurgence last year. “I would like to have that chance [today].”
Mikalauskas, who lost his grades-related appeal to the university on Tuesday, didn’t want to address the circumstances leading to his dismissal, other than to reiterate that he was entirely to blame.
“I’m at fault for everything that has happened to me,” Mikalauskas said. “I had a lot of chances. I hate the decision that coach came to but it’s one I have to deal with and learn from.”
Mikalauskas said he was wrapping up a family vacation in Lithuania when he received a phone call from Leitao last Sunday night telling him that his scholarship wasn’t going to be renewed.
According to Mikalauskas, a strong group of friends and family support has kept his spirits up since his dismissal.
Mikalauskas refused to divulge his future plans. However, he said he hopes to return to Virginia after his expected academic suspension is lifted next summer and complete his degree in anthropology.
That would lead one to believe that transferring to another college isn’t in the cards.
“Everyone will know what I am doing after the press conference,” Mikalauskas said.
Dunks
With the dismissal of Mikalauskas, Mike Scott doesn’t expect his role to change next season. “I expect to be at the ‘4’ a lot,” Scott said. “I still have a feel for rebounding and scoring in the post. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away.”… Scott on Mikalauskas leaving: “I was shocked. I had called Lars, but I think he was talking with his family, but I was pretty shocked. Good luck to him in the future, whatever happens.” Not surprisingly, Leitao would not say whether Calvin Baker would be receiving the scholarship that became available with Mikalauskas’ departure. “It’s an ongoing process, like anything else. When we talked about Tunji way back when, I said that it was a process that had a lot of different turns to it and it took its course and a long time. It’s not automatic when a scholarship becomes available. There’s a host of things which are best kept internal — and none of them are negative —that gets one to the point where we can give it out.”