Another member of the Virginia men’s basketball team has entered the transfer portal. Point guard Dante Harris made that decision per On3.com, joining Leon Bond III as players planning to depart the program this offseason.
Virginia junior Dante Harris has entered the Transfer Portal @On3sports has learnedhttps://t.co/O1rxsbw2Kk pic.twitter.com/BMYDUTc4uU
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 19, 2024
Harris has not made an official announcement at the time of publication.
The 6’0″ guard initially joined the Cavaliers as a transfer out of Georgetown. With the Hoyas, he averaged 11.9 points with 4.1 assists as a sophomore. At the end of his freshman year there, he was named the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the team to the title.
After joining Virginia ahead of the spring semester and sitting out with a redshirt for the 2022-2023 season, he carved out a role as a bench reserve early this past season. He had at least 6 points in three of the first four games and posted at least 1 asist in all four outings. That included some key plays in a win against Florida when he tallied 6 points and 2 assists.
An ankle injury in late Novemeber, however, sidelined him for approximately one month and he was not at full strength even when returning to the lineup in 2024. While he had eight multi-assist games after his return, his best game was arguably his first one back. Against Virginia Tech on Jan. 17, he produced 5 points and 5 assists in his first game since Nov. 22. In the end, he averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.7 turnovers for the Hoos while shooting 28.0% overall and 10.0% from 3-point range.
Virginia has been in contact with numerous point guards in the transfer portal since the end of the season, which may have impacted Harris’ decision. The Cavaliers also are hosting Class of 2024 high school point guard Trent Perry this weekend for a recruiting visit. Perry had included UVA among his final schools early in the process, but committed to Southern California. He re-opened his recruiting when the Trojans underwent a coaching change and the Hoos quickly re-entered the picture.
UVA must replace Reece Beekman at the point guard slot after he officially declared for the NBA Draft this week. Beekman led Virginia in both scoring (14.3 points per game) and assists (ACC-leading 6.2 assists per game) in his final year. The roster appears to need further reshuffling after this past season. The Hoos did qualify for the NCAA Tournament and finished third in the ACC, but lost 8 games this season while scoring fewer than 55 points. That included the NCAA Tournament First Four game against Colorado State, a 67-42 loss that quickly ended the Cavaliers’ stay in March Madness.
