UVa glad to have Mikalauskas back

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 5, 2008

For two months Lars Mikalauskas sat, nursing a shoulder injury while watching his frontcourt teammates struggle, some playing out of position, some playing too soon, some doing both.
He came back three weeks ago and from the looks of it is trying to make up for lost time.

Mikalauskas will give Virginia (14-13, 4-10 ACC) a different look when it hosts No. 6 Duke (25-3, 12-2 ACC) tonight at 7 p.m., something it didn’t have the first go-around, an 87-65 drubbing at Cameron Indoor Stadium in January.

“He does a lot of dirty work for them,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Any time you have a kid like that playing hard, getting offensive boards, playing good defense, you’re going to be better. I think he makes them better.”

It didn’t seem like the return of the 6-foot-8, 246-pound Mikalauskas would be much of a boon to the reeling Cavaliers, not when you consider the Lithuanian averaged a mere 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.3 minutes a game last season.

But Mikalauskas has given Virginia a jolt since his return, putting up 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in five games while bringing energy to a team severely lacking in that department.

His presence at center has reduced the burden for freshman Mike Scott, who was overmatched at the five position. It also allowed Adrian Joseph to play the three, his natural spot.

In five games with Mikalauskas logging substantial minutes, UVa is 3-2, with its two losses coming by a combined three points.

“I think he’s the kind of guy that because of his energy, can continue to grow,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “And it was my thought process that his growth is still yet to be determined. When you combine health and age and experience, then we can see more consistent, productive play from him.”

In a two-point loss at Miami on Saturday, the junior put up career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13) in just 20 minutes. He followed that up with 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes in a win against Georgia Tech on Monday.

But the junior hasn’t just been about points. He scored two points against N.C. State on Feb. 24 but was part of a low-post group that shut down freshman J.J. Hickson, who finished with seven points, half his season average.

The Cavaliers did it by giving Hickson a “warm welcome” to the John Paul Jones Arena, according to Mikalauskas, who casually mentioned he threw a couple elbows to serve as a gift basket. That will probably be the strategy tonight against the Blue Devils, who, while lacking a true post player in their starting lineup, play a physical brand of basketball from baseline to baseline.

That’s right up Mikalauskas’ alley. It’s his M.O., a style he fashioned after his role model - if the term is appropriate - former Pistons instigator Bill Laimbeer.

“Dirty guy, throws elbows, starts fights,” Mikalauskas told the (Charlottesville) Daily Progress after the Georgia Tech game. “Somebody who sends a message that, ‘Hey, we’re not going to be soft.’

“We have nothing to lose now and we’re going to show people that we’re going to play tough.”