UVA’s Dante Harris enters transfer portal

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia brought in Dante Harris from Georgetown nearly two years ago with high hopes of him becoming the point guard who would succeed Reece Beekman. As things turned out, Harris never reached those expectations.

Harris entered the transfer portal on Friday and will have two years of eligibility remaining, as UVA continues to search for another point guard.

With Harris entering the portal and Beekman announcing he plans to enter the NBA Draft, the Cavaliers have only one remaining true point guard on the roster in redshirt freshman Christian Bliss. Meanwhile, McDonald’s All-American point guard Trent Perry, who recently decommitted from Southern Cal, is officially visiting UVA this weekend.

Harris, who is from Washington, D.C., attended Lakeway Christian Academy in Tennessee, where he played for former UVA star Curtis Staples. Harris played two seasons at Georgetown for Patrick Ewing and was named MVP of the Big East Tournament his freshman year before entering the portal.

He was considered one of the top point guards in the portal after leaving the Hoyas, entered UVA at midseason and redshirted. Harris was expected to be Beekman’s backup this past season, and he played in 24 games (started one), but missed 10 games with a high-ankle sprain.

Harris carved out a reputation as a solid on-ball defender, but his offense never really developed. He shot only 28 percent from the field and was only 2 for 20 from the 3-point arc, making 50 percent of his free-throw attempts.

Harris averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 2 rebounds per game. He committed 17 turnovers as opposed to 33 assists and had 17 steals.