The Commitment: Virginia closed out it spring portal recruiting window with a commitment from Kansas State point guard Darrin “Dai Dai” Ames last week, filling the team’s final open scholarship. Ames became the fourth scholarship addition from the cycle as part of group that will join walk-on big man Carter Lang from Vanderbilt as well as a pair of incoming first-year signees, Ishan Sharma and Jacob Cofie.
Ames comes to UVa after one year at KSU where he started the season as a reserve before eventually earning a starting spot in the backcourt. He was a late addition to the portal, entering just a couple of days before the deadline after K-State added several talented and veteran guards for next season.
A former four-star prospect, Ames was ranked No. 66 in the 2023 recruiting class and chose the Wildcats over offers from Michigan State, Maryland, Marquette, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Oklahoma among others. He was a star at Kenwood High School in Chicago, the first Chicagoland native to play for UVa since Mustapha Farrakhan.
What it means for UVa: The Hoos seemed to consider pocketing their final scholarship or holding out until later in the offseason to use it but ultimately made an offer to Ames that he accepted. He fills their last open roster spot and should compete to start at point guard. Ames is now one of two additions this offseason that can play the point, along with versatile FSU guard Jalen Warley who can also play at a wing position.
Ames, along with Warley and redshirt freshman Christian Bliss, should compete for time leading into the season. Warley is very much a known commodity, having played three years in the ACC. Bliss is very much an unknown commodity, having redshirted last year and undergoing planned surgery along the way. Ames is somewhere in the middle and, like Bliss and Warley, is another talented player with upside that was initially a top-100 recruit.
His addition also provides some cover for UVa in the backcourt, with the recent news that Elijah Gertrude suffered an off-court injury that could keep him out of competition for part or all of the 2024-25 season. With Gertrude unavailable, everyone else in the backcourt will need to pick up more of the slack, including Ames.
What he brings: Ames is a smaller guard with offensive upside and creativity. In his one season with K-State, he scored 5.2 points per game, shot 35.3 percent from the field, and hit 32.9 percent of his shots from 3. Ames also dished out a pair of assists per contest and despite being a prototypical point guard did play off the ball some in Kansas State’s scheme.
He found his footing in the second half of his freshman year, which could be a promising sign for his future at UVa. Ames started the final 13 games of the season, and in that span, averaged 5.7 points per game, shooting 44.8 percent from the field, and 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) from deep. In his final game with K-State, he scored a career high 16 points in an NIT loss to Iowa.
Ames was a prolific scorer in high school and in time could become a significant contributor on that end of the floor. He scored 21.4 points per game as a senior in high school, on 51.3 percent shooting. Ames had a 65-point game in December 2022 against Southland College Prep, while dishing out seven assists and recording seven steals.
Ames also brings some attributes that are a bit different from what UVa already had on the roster. The Cavaliers had added some shooting and size in the offseason but lacked guards that had proven they could put the ball on the floor and either make a play at the rim or get creative in finding teammates. His clips from K-State, as well as his prolific high-school career, indicate that he has those abilities. Both he and Warley have the ability to go get a bucket, but unlike Warley, Ames has some upside as a pull-up shooter, given how he performed as a freshman and particularly how he closed out the season.
The Projection: Ames is probably the hardest to project of any of the transfers but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If he was an older player who had done what he did as a freshman at K-State as a third-year player, the upside that he seems to have wouldn’t really be there. But with three years of eligibility left, Ames’ time at Kansas State may have just been him scratching the surface.
Having said that, UVa has other options at point guard and Ames isn’t going to be handed the starting job, necessarily. Tony Bennett trusts experienced players, and given Warley’s background at point guard and his experience playing in the ACC, he could be the default choice going into the fall. Bliss also has a year in the program, and while he hasn’t played, was a valued prospect in the 2024 class that the staff set out to bring in early.
Still, Ames was brought in for a reason and therefore very likely has a chance to be the starting point guard from the start of the season. If he does that, and builds on what he did as a freshman, he could end up being UVa’s answer at point for two or three years. And if Ames doesn’t take to the pack-line, or his offensive game stalls out and doesn’t improve from what we saw this past season, he could be relegated to a bench role, and ultimately might not be a long-term fit.
It’s tough to say exactly how Ames will fit in but the opportunity is certainly there for him to take it and run. The Windy City product could be a great fit for what UVa currently has on the roster, as a creative player that can break down the defense but also get his own shot while opening things up for spot-up shooters around him.
As always though, Ames’ role will probably come down to how quickly he picks up UVa’s defense and if he can earn the trust of the staff to be a creative player while also playing within their structure.
