Will Harris has been released from his basketball scholarship by the University of Virginia and already has been in contact with other schools, according to Jason Smith, who coached Harris at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H.

Harris missed most of the 2007-08 season with a back problem but teammates have described him as close to 100 percent in recent pick-up games.

"Will actually loves Virginia, loves the university and everybody in Charlottesville," Smith said. "He had a great relationship with the coaches and all of his teammates.

"He was a great ambassador for the university; I just think he wants a little bit different role for his last two years in college. I think he just wants to go to a program where he can shine a little bit more."

Harris played more than any other UVa freshman in 2006-07, when he averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds, but he played in only nine of 33 UVa games this past season.

Harris (6-foot-6, 245 pounds) was viewed as something of a "tweener," not tall enough to guard 6-9 or 6-10 power forwards but a little too stocky for the wing. The back injury prevented him from altering that perception.

"That's just a small portion of it," Smith said. "When I spoke to Will about a week and a half ago, he said he was back to 100 percent and playing every day. Adrian Joseph told me [Monday] that Will was playing great."

Smith said it was his understanding that Harris had spoken to Albany and Marist. New Hampshire and Northeastern called Smith on Wednesday.

"I think he would prefer to go to those levels," Smith said. "I've had Big East, Atlantic-10, even Big Ten schools call and I've mentioned them to Will. But, again, Will is almost 22 years old. He's not going to get caught up in the level of schools like a 17- or 18-year-old kid might.

"He'd definitely be a match-up problem for schools in the America East or the MAAC."

UVa coach Dave Leitao has been in Costa Rica and has not addressed the Harris situation. However, Harris' departure would free up a scholarship for either Calvin Baker, who transferred from William and Mary without a grant, or Tunji Soroye, who qualifies for a hardship appeal that would enable him to return for a fifth year.

Recruiting

Georgia Tech has taken an oral commitment from Glen Rice Jr., a 6-4 wing guard from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. Rice's father and namesake is the career scoring leader at the University of Michigan and played for six NBA teams from 1989-2004 (none of them Atlanta). Glen Rice Sr. was the MVP of the 1989 Final Four as well as a three-time NBA All-Star.

• One of Glen Rice Jr.'s future teammates, point guard Ryan Harrow, has given a commitment to North Carolina State. Harrow will play for Marietta Walton this season after transferring from the Cannon School in Concord, N.C., where his 2007-08 teammates included 6-6 Jarell Eddie, who committed to Virginia Tech last month.

Harrow and Eddie will be juniors in high school next season, meaning that five ACC teams already have taken commitments for the entering class of 2010. North Carolina already has two commitments from juniors.

Exception

The NCAA has given immediate eligibility to Bassirou Dieng, a 6-8 post player who has been accepted into Georgia Tech's graduate school of international affairs. It will be the third Division I program for Dieng, who began his career at Norfolk State before transferring to St. Francis (Pa.), where he averaged 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds during the 2007-08 season. Dieng is a native of Dakar, Senegal.

Opportunities

Participants in a Red Cross Blood Drive on Friday at Virginia Tech will be given a tour of the sixth-floor suites at Lane Stadium. Head coach Frank Beamer and some of his assistant coaches are expected to make an appearance between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

• Virginia men's lacrosse coach Dom Starsia will be the guest speaker Aug. 27 when the UVa Club of Roanoke holds its fourth annual Cavalier Kickoff Barbecue at Braeloch, located above the Boxtree Lodge in Vinton. To register, contact John Rader at 966-6099.

UVa's new radio voice, Dave Koehn, will be at the Pulaski Country Club on Aug. 21 when Cavalier supporters in the New River Valley hold their annual kickoff.

Marilyn Jenkins (1-540-382-4208) is the contact for that function.