Virginia offers point guard Christian Bliss; could he be Wahoos’ PG of future?

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Posted on Monday, May. 8, 2023, 6:10 pm

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By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: Phenom Hoop Report

Virginia has long been searching for a future point guard, and even though the Cavaliers have offers out to several prospects, it appears that one has emerged as the top target for Tony Bennett.

Christian Bliss, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound point guard from the George School in Newtown, Pa., received a Virginia offer on Monday afternoon. Bliss announced the offer on his Twitter account.

A member of the 2024 recruiting class, Bliss is the third point guard from that group to receive an offer from UVA, along with Travis Perry of Eddyville, Ky., and Daniel Freitag of Minneapolis. 

Bliss, originally from Brooklyn, where he played and started at point guard as a freshman and sophomore at Archbishop Molloy, transferred to George School for his junior season and ended up enjoying a record-breaking year.

He set a single-season scoring record of 578 points, including a school and league record 39 points in one game, a mark that had stood since 1999. Bliss was named to the Pennsylvania all-state team for his efforts as he averaged 20 points and 5.3 assists per game, in addition to shooting 56 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line.

Bliss was so advanced as an eighth-grader that St. John’s actually sent a scout to watch him play.

It’s no wonder that Rick Pitino’s St. John’s program is among those now in pursuit of Bliss. Joining the Red Storm in offering Bliss are Virginia, Miami, Villanova, Penn State, Xavier, Manhattan, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, Delaware and others. He visited Villanova last month and unofficially visited UVA in February, when he attended the Cavaliers’ win over Duke.

A 4-star by On3.com and Rivals, 247Sports has him as a 3-star. He is ranked No. 74 nationally by On3 and No. 106 by Rivals.

“I had a great visit, really enjoyed seeing what [Virginia] is all about,” Bliss said. “They are very professional and do things the right way. I like the coaching staff a lot. I have a great relationship with Coach Orlando and really like Coach Bennett.”

Bliss is the second offer UVA has made in recent days, having offered 6-9 power forward Bryson Tiller (see related story) from the Class of 2025 last week.