Although she comes from a school just 5.4 miles from University of Florida’s campus, Viktorija Dimaite actually hails from Panevezys, Lithuania, a good 5,223 miles from Gainesville.
Dimaite arrived in Gainesville fresh from competing with the Lithuanian Under-16 national team that had just finished a strong campaign in the 2008 European Championships.
She enrolled at The Rock School, where coach Fabian Chapov was hoping to expand on the success the basketball program had seen in recent years.
The rise of the program is an interesting one, wrought with the Florida High School Athletic Association recruiting violations amidst basketball dominance.
The Rock School, a local K-12 school with less than 300 students, joined the FHSAA in 1997.
After several years of modest success, The Rock School expanded into a basketball powerhouse after deciding to spread their Christian message to a global audience.
In 2005, The Rock School created an international students program that helped usher in numerous foreign basketball players to Gainesville.
The result was an influx of talent that included Dimaite as well as three other players from the Lithuanian Junior National team, and later included Philadelphia 76ers rookie Joel Embiid.
Before the Lithuanians could arrive, however, The Rock School admitted recruiting violations to the FHSAA, who in turn placed them on probation for the 2007-08 season. The school’s athletic director and current men’s basketball coach Justin Harden said after the violations that continuing to compete wasn’t an issue.
And with that, Dimaite joined the Lions along with three other members of the women’s Lithuanian Junior National team.
The 2009-10 season turned out to be the most successful in the program’s history, with Dimaite and her teammates leading the Lions to a FHSAA Class 1A girls basketball state championship over Hollywood Christian.
It would be the last FHSAA basketball championship for The Rock School, as the program decided to withdraw from FHSAA competition amidst repeated pressure from the athletic association concerning recruiting violations that spanned an international level.
With no state title to defend, the Lions played a more-wide reaching schedule against other non-FHSAA and had a more extensive travel schedule.
With numerous scholarship offers coming in, Dimaite had a decision to make on where she would continue her career.
Like fellow Lithuanian Greta Bartkute, who enrolled at the University of Tampa the previous year, Dimaite wanted to stay “close to home” or at least, close to the home she had in the United States – Gainesville.
So when Florida women’s basketball coach Amanda Butler came calling, Dimaite knew that there was no better place for her. She wouldn’t have to travel more than 20 minutes for college.
She wouldn’t have to leave her new home.
Butler convinced her to redshirt her freshman season, in order to develop her strength and further her skill.
Before she was to begin her training regimen, however, Dimaite was set to compete in the Under-20 European Championships for her home country.
Neither of these plans would come to fruition, as Dimaite dislocated her right ankle the day before she was set to leave. It was a devastating turn of events, as the injury would keep her out for the entire season.
Instead of building strength and improving, Viktorija was stuck recovering and rehabbing.
She was frustrated, to say the least.
After working her way back and practicing with the team, Dimaite looked for a fresh start. That wouldn’t come either.
Dimaite tore the ACL and medial meniscus in her left knee in a non-contact drill at practice on Nov. 3, 2012, and it was back to rehab and surgery. In her absence, the team had little size, and any expectations they had were lessened with the 6-foot-4 center’s vacancy.
Just 11 months later, Dimaite tore the same ACL again doing something she’s done thousands of times – running up the court.
“It’s discouraging, yeah,” Dimaite said. “But at the same time I can’t think about it.”
It’s hard not to.
Hoping to put her injury troubles behind her, Dimaite is finally hoping to start a basketball career that has been delayed in the saddest of ways.
She’s spent the offseason training, still hoping to rebuild the strength in her knee that is critical to supporting her height.
So far, so good.
While not all the way back, Dimaite is doing as much as she can while not pushing her limits.
Knowing how much of a difference-maker she can be, Butler and the team’s trainers have developed a plan: If she experience’s any soreness, she’ll take practice off to recover for games to keep her knee healthy.
The soreness isn’t gone, and it might not ever be gone. The key is to manage her activity to limit potential problems.
“I feel like I have good and bad days, but I’m having more good days than bad,” Dimaite said. “I’ve talked with my trainer and he says that’s going to happen.”
“I’m still practicing but will limit my reps.”
“Conditioning wise, I feel like I’ll do everything the exact same as the team.”
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311
