Lars Mikalauskas' last-ditch effort to remain a Virginia Cavalier basketball player is over - his academic appeal was denied. Here's hoping he will at least be able to finish his degree when the academic suspension is lifted, and if he can carve himself out a career playing ball in Europe, so much the better as well.
I dunno if you're interested in this sort of thing, but they may be worth a peek: the enemy's take. The LA Times and the OC Register give a token look at some East Coast team their Trojans are sort of expected to have a scrimmage against before their West-Coast-superiority-proving game against OSU. Here you can read about our entire offseason in five paragraphs, with sprinkled-in references to the notion that USC is so awesome.
The Blogpoll Roundtable roundup is up at Hey Jenny Slater. The roundup roundup:
- Lots of folks think Kansas is headed for a crash-and-burn.
- Lots of folks also want Usain Bolt on their team. (I still say the moment you try to send him into the line, even a below-average defensive lineman would snap him in two. "Wicked fast" and "durability of a rhinoceros" rarely show up in the same scouting report, though I grant you that an actual rhinoceros probably would have both of these qualities. Rhinoceri are ineligible, however.)
- No agreement on who is going to come out of nowhere and surprise everyone. Good thing, too, because if there had been a consensus, it would sort of have defeated the question.
Showing posts with label lars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lars. Show all posts
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
more on Lars
Blogging from work.....
The UVA career of Lars Mikalauskas was a colorful and exciting one, so you knew it wasn't going to end with nothing more than a terse statement from Dave Leitao and a fade into the sunset. Lars will be appealing his dismissal and plead with Leitao for another chance. Jeff White at the RTD points out that the dismissal was the result of three years of piled-up behavior issues. Which really only makes sense, because the usual reasons for dismissals result in headlines first, dismissal later. More than likely, there was a straw that broke the camel's back here, because the timing is odd, coming right as the team is about to start practice. Perhaps Lars was told not to take this trip to Lithuania that he's on, and took it anyway. Alternate theory: Lars may have been told he was only on the team conditional to Soroye not getting his medical waiver; Soroye gets waiver, gets scholarship, Lars gone. All just pure speculation anyway. My best guess is that this appeal will not work out for Lars and he will either transfer somewhere else or head back to Europe to start playing professionally. I'd like to see it work out for the guy, because there was never any doubt that when he came off the court he'd given it all he had.
The UVA career of Lars Mikalauskas was a colorful and exciting one, so you knew it wasn't going to end with nothing more than a terse statement from Dave Leitao and a fade into the sunset. Lars will be appealing his dismissal and plead with Leitao for another chance. Jeff White at the RTD points out that the dismissal was the result of three years of piled-up behavior issues. Which really only makes sense, because the usual reasons for dismissals result in headlines first, dismissal later. More than likely, there was a straw that broke the camel's back here, because the timing is odd, coming right as the team is about to start practice. Perhaps Lars was told not to take this trip to Lithuania that he's on, and took it anyway. Alternate theory: Lars may have been told he was only on the team conditional to Soroye not getting his medical waiver; Soroye gets waiver, gets scholarship, Lars gone. All just pure speculation anyway. My best guess is that this appeal will not work out for Lars and he will either transfer somewhere else or head back to Europe to start playing professionally. I'd like to see it work out for the guy, because there was never any doubt that when he came off the court he'd given it all he had.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Soroye not leaving after all; Lars gone
Time for the Monday catch-up. First, the best news. Per the Daily Progress, Tunji Soroye will return and be awarded the scholarship vacated by Will Harris. Soroye is the only really tall (6'10" or above) player on the roster that isn't a freshman, and his defense was sorely missed last season. This means that Calvin Baker will remain a walk-on, at least for this year.
** As I was typing, this happens. Bombshell: Lars Mikalauskas is gone. On the bright side, ummmmmm..... maybe Baker will get that scholarship after all.
Wonderful. Just wonderful. The season just went from pretty bad to a little bit better to a whole hell of a lot worse.
%#&*. Moving on....
Speaking of Will Harris, he has decided to become a Great Dane and play for UAlbany. Best of luck to him there. Of note, remember Keith Friel? I do. Slow, awesome white kid who could do nothing but shoot and get big cheers every time he came in the game. His brother Jeremy is an assistant at Albany. So that's neat.
Looking around the league....
- Virginia Tech's Zach Luckett is suspended from the team for DUI. He will spend time in jail if convicted; whether or not he's still on the team by then is anyone's guess. Since it's his second in just a few years, perhaps iffy.
- NC State has been hit hard by injuries, losing Toney Baker, Clem Johnson, and Donald Bowens. Baker, though talented, is the least of their worries; he'll likely be back at some point this year, and the Pack have two other quality backs. Clem Johnson, in complete defiance of my projections, was on track to start at safety. And Bowens, out with a slight spinal fracture, was their best wide receiver.
- Again in defiance of my projection, Maryland has named Jordan Steffy the starting quarterback.
- Florida state in major NCAA doo-doo? More in a bit.
First, some quickies:
- The kicking is looking better.
- Sean Gottschalk and Staton Jobe are hurting.
Now.....Florida State.
There's almost zero MSM backup on this right now, because the school is being obstreperous about releasing any info. So bear that in mind. Then go read this post over at BuckeyePlanet. Gatorubet is a reliable and excellent poster. The ominous part of the post (for the Seminoles) is the unattributed quote from the AD: "The NCAA may be looking to make an example of us."
This would be something to keep an eye on. Even after FSU announced their self-imposed punishments, all was not kosher in Nole-land. Simply suspending players for a couple games was not going to do it, especially when you then go ahead and schedule Little Debbie and the Keebler Elves to fill those spots on the schedule. The players may be the ones participating but this is an institutional issue, not a player-misconduct issue. The NCAA's catchphrase is "lack of institutional control" and it certainly applies to FSU over the past 16 years or so. This goes beyond lack of control, it is outright institutional enabling. Scholarship slots will almost certainly be lost; a postseason ban is also not out of the question, in the humble opinion of your blogger.
** As I was typing, this happens. Bombshell: Lars Mikalauskas is gone. On the bright side, ummmmmm..... maybe Baker will get that scholarship after all.
Wonderful. Just wonderful. The season just went from pretty bad to a little bit better to a whole hell of a lot worse.
%#&*. Moving on....
Speaking of Will Harris, he has decided to become a Great Dane and play for UAlbany. Best of luck to him there. Of note, remember Keith Friel? I do. Slow, awesome white kid who could do nothing but shoot and get big cheers every time he came in the game. His brother Jeremy is an assistant at Albany. So that's neat.
Looking around the league....
- Virginia Tech's Zach Luckett is suspended from the team for DUI. He will spend time in jail if convicted; whether or not he's still on the team by then is anyone's guess. Since it's his second in just a few years, perhaps iffy.
- NC State has been hit hard by injuries, losing Toney Baker, Clem Johnson, and Donald Bowens. Baker, though talented, is the least of their worries; he'll likely be back at some point this year, and the Pack have two other quality backs. Clem Johnson, in complete defiance of my projections, was on track to start at safety. And Bowens, out with a slight spinal fracture, was their best wide receiver.
- Again in defiance of my projection, Maryland has named Jordan Steffy the starting quarterback.
- Florida state in major NCAA doo-doo? More in a bit.
First, some quickies:
- The kicking is looking better.
- Sean Gottschalk and Staton Jobe are hurting.
Now.....Florida State.
There's almost zero MSM backup on this right now, because the school is being obstreperous about releasing any info. So bear that in mind. Then go read this post over at BuckeyePlanet. Gatorubet is a reliable and excellent poster. The ominous part of the post (for the Seminoles) is the unattributed quote from the AD: "The NCAA may be looking to make an example of us."
This would be something to keep an eye on. Even after FSU announced their self-imposed punishments, all was not kosher in Nole-land. Simply suspending players for a couple games was not going to do it, especially when you then go ahead and schedule Little Debbie and the Keebler Elves to fill those spots on the schedule. The players may be the ones participating but this is an institutional issue, not a player-misconduct issue. The NCAA's catchphrase is "lack of institutional control" and it certainly applies to FSU over the past 16 years or so. This goes beyond lack of control, it is outright institutional enabling. Scholarship slots will almost certainly be lost; a postseason ban is also not out of the question, in the humble opinion of your blogger.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
