Three Players Sign With UVa

Three recruits signed letters-of-intent with the Virginia men’s basketball program during the fall signing period. Today in a press release, head coach Pete Gillen announced the signing of 6-8 forward Laurynas Mikalauskas , 6-5 guard/forward Mamadi Diane and 6-10 center Sam Warren . Another commitment, 6-4 guard Brian Moten , did not sign with the Cavaliers, reportedly because of academic issues.

According to several published reports, UVa officials balked at admitted Moten because of his grades. Moten signed with Western Michigan last year as a high school senior in Saginaw, Mich., but he failed to meet NCAA eligibility requirements and is repeating the 12th grade at Christian Center Academy, a boarding school in Cincinnati. Depending on his academic performance, Moten still may sign with Virginia in the spring, or he could decide to go elsewhere.

The other three members of the 2004 class are signed and sealed. Diane averaged 15.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.9 steals a game for DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, Md.) as a junior during the 2003-04 season. He shot 41 percent from three-point range. Diane was a second-team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference selection last season and was a first-team preseason All-State selection this year.

Mikalauskas, a native of Lithuania, averaged 18.3 points and 11.4 rebounds a game for the Blue Ridge School (Dyke, Va.) last season. He earned first-team Virginia Independent Schools Division I All-State honors as a junior, and first-team All-Virginia Prep League honors as a sophomore and a junior. He also earned first-team All-Central Virginia recognition from the Charlottesville Daily Progress for the 2003-04 season.

Warren, who is in his first year at Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colo., played with the Colorado Select AAU team last summer and participated in the 2004 Junior Olympic Festival. He also was rated among the top big men at the Adidas camp in Sewanee, Ga., last summer.