Virginia landed a point guard of the future on Friday, with coach Tony Bennett securing the commitment of 2024 four-star Christian Bliss.
The 6’4”, 205-pound guard is a native of Queens, N.Y., who transferred to George School in Newtown, Pa., and chose UVA over Miami, Villanova and Xavier.
“I chose UVA because I believe in the vision the coaching staff has for the program and myself,” Bliss told Joe Tipton of On3.com, which rates Bliss the #11 point guard in the Class of 2024. “I want to be around a group of people that will help prepare me for the next level and life. And most importantly to bring home a national championship.”
Virginia is also still in the running for a Class of 2025 point guard, Chance Mallory of St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville.
Bennett has had success using two point guards in his starting lineup in recent years, dating back to the 2018-2019 season, in which he started Kihei Clark alongside Ty Jerome on the way to the 2019 national championship.
Clark then teamed with Reece Beekman, a projected 2024 first-round NBA Draft pick, for three years, with the pair helping lead Virginia to ACC regular-season championships in 2021 and 2023.
Beekman is one of three point guards on the 2023-2024 Virginia roster.
Dante Harris, a transfer from Georgetown, joined the program as a redshirt for the second semester of the 2022-2023 season, and Bennett landed 6’6” St. Mary’s point guard Andrew Rohde from the transfer portal in the spring transfer season.
Both Harris and Rohde have three years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2023-2024 season.