The most asked about guy among the UVA Basketball fan base right now is Christian Bliss, the 6’4” redshirt freshman point guard.
Starting point guard Dai Dai Ames got just nine minutes in Tuesday’s 70-67 win over NC State, and it wasn’t because of injury, per a program source, but rather, it was a coach’s decision.
Whatever Ames’s status is going forward, it’s apparent that Ron Sanchez can use some help at point guard, with the only other point guard on the roster being Andrew Rohde, who had 11 points, seven assists and no turnovers in the win over State, but as we know, he can be streaky.
ICYMI
Sanchez is giving freshman wing Ishan Sharma some minutes as a backup at the one, and otherwise going with what he called, after the win over State on Tuesday, a “committee” approach.
So, it is here that we consider the case of Christian Bliss, who we’re still just seeing in his warmup togs on the bench on gameday.
I’m getting tons of emails from readers speculating on what is going on with Bliss – is he redshirting? Transferring?
The word, from a UVA Athletics spokesperson on Wednesday, is, Bliss is still day to day.
In other words, no controversy.
ICYMI
- UVA signs point guard recruit Christian Bliss, who is joining program in the fall
- Tony Bennett confirms redshirts for Bliss, Gertrude, Robinson: ‘That’s the plan right now’
You might remember, Bliss missed his freshman season with an ankle injury that required surgery, and then went on the informal injured list with a preseason foot injury.
The confusion with Bliss’s status is, we’ve been seeing him on the court for pregame shootarounds since mid-November.
I’m speculating here, because you can’t ask spokespeople specifics about medical status, due to HIPAA, but my best guess is, the holdup is a combination of caution, to protect Bliss from pushing too hard, too fast, and conditioning being an issue coming off a foot injury.
One other guy that I get asked about a good bit is Dante Harris, who spent a year and a half with the UVA Basketball program, redshirting in the second semester of the 2022-2023 season after transferring in from Georgetown, then gutting his way through an injury-plagued 2023-2024 season, seeing action in 24 games.
ICYMI
- UVA Basketball: Update on the status of grad point guard Dante Harris
- Virginia backup point guard Dante Harris is hitting the transfer portal: Analysis
Harris entered the transfer portal in the spring, then withdrew his name from the portal and returned to Virginia for the fall semester, and as of a Sept. 10 report in AFP, Harris was “not on the active roster, but is working out with the team.”
The update on Harris: he has transferred to Memphis, and is on the Tigers’ active roster as we speak, though he has yet to appear in a game there yet.
College basketball needs a waiver wire for us to keep up anymore.
Video: UVA Basketball player updates
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Chris Graham
