Four-star guard Bliss talks about being offered by Virginia

After taking an unofficial visit to UVa this past season, four-star guard Christian Bliss had plenty of reason to think the Wahoos would likely offer someday soon.

Following his stellar showing during the live periods last month, that day arrived on Monday for the Newtown (PA) George School.

“I have had a pretty long relationship with Virginia and they just wanted to make sure I was one of the right guys that they wanted to offer,” he told CavsCorner not longer after the offer came in. “They are a program that is very selective of who they want to recruit so it is nice to be wanted from them. At the end of the day I am just looking for a school that I best fit in and whether that is Virginia or another school, it is just about finding that right school.”

Part of the long relationship the 6-foot-4 Bliss has had with Virginia is in large part because of the visit he took. It gave him a chance to see Tony Bennett and Co. in action.

“When I saw them play in person this past year the defense obviously stands out,” he said. “They play really good defense and when I went to see them play this year the defense really impressed me and that definitely impressed me more than anything else. I like to defend so it was cool seeing how I would possibly fit in that defense.”

Assistant coach Orlando Vandross has been the leader recruiter for Bliss thus far and he has impressed upon Bliss that he is the type of player they look for at UVa.

“My main contact has been Coach Vandross and we have built a good relationship,” Bliss explained. “He is just telling me to be myself and that I am the type of guy they are looking for. We talk about basketball but we also talk about stuff happening off the court and I enjoy that. He stresses that Virginia has really good talent but most importantly just really good people.”

Lately, Bliss and Bennett have been talking more and more and that relationship is also part of what led to the offer.

“He is saying he wants me to come to Virginia and help us win and they want to help me get better,” Bliss said. “We have built a good relationship and it is one of those really good player and coaches relationships. He has played in the NBA as a point guard so he knows what it takes to get to the highest level and he really stressed about how they win games because he knows that I want to go to a winning program.”

One program that has already hosted Bliss for an official visit is in-state power Villanova.

“It was a really nice visit,” Bliss recalled. “I had a great time just getting closer with the coaching staff and I have built a great relationship with them. I have enjoyed seeing what they have talked about and the culture they have there is second to none. Seeing how the team interacts with each other was awesome to see.”

While there has been some discussions about Bliss potentially moving into the 2023 class, that’s not on his mind right now it seems.

“There has definitely been talk about it but right now I really don’t have an answer for that because I am just focused on EYBL and helping my team win but there definitely has been talk about it and I don’t really have a stance on that right now,” he said.

At this point Bliss has locked in two more official visits with one being another ACC program.

“I have not locked in the dates yet but I will be taking official visits to Miami and Xavier,” he said. “I definitely want to make a decision sooner rather than later. I don’t have a specific time period yet but again definitely sooner rather than later and most likely before the summer ends.”