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Report: Former Virginia Guard Dante Harris Transfers to Memphis

Matt Newton

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Former Virginia guard Dante Harris is transferring to Memphis and will reportedly be immediately eligible to play this season for the Tigers, as reported by Hitmen Hoops and Jason Munz of The Commercial Appeal on Friday evening (December 27). Harris entered the transfer portal back in April before withdrawing and returning to UVA this fall semester, but did not play in any games for the Cavaliers, which is why he is immediately eligible to play at Memphis.

This is the second time Harris has transferred, as he originally came to Virginia from Georgetown in December of 2022. As a true freshman in 2020-2021, Harris was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament after averaging 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists to lead Georgetown's miraculous run to the title. As a sophomore in 2021-2022, Harris started all 29 games and averaged 11.9 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He did not appear in Georgetown's first few games of the 2022-2023 season and then transferred to Virginia, joining the Cavaliers as a mid-year transfer and redshirting the remainder of that season.

Expected to be the backup point guard to Reece Beekman, Harris missed 10 games with an ankle injury in the 2023-2024 season at UVA. Even when he returned to the court, Harris struggled to find a rhythm as a Cavalier, averaging career-lows of 2.5 points and 1.4 assists. He entered the transfer portal in the spring, but then reportedly withdrew from the portal in late May with plans to return to Virginia as a walk-on this fall. Harris spent the fall semester with the Cavaliers, but is now transferring to Memphis, where he will reportedly be immediately eligible to play for Penny Hardaway and the Tigers, who defeated Virginia 64-62 on December 28th at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Tigers are no strangers to mid-year transfers, as Memphis brought in Kansas State transfer Nae'Qwan Tomlin in December of last season and Tomlin wound up playing in 21 games and averaging 14.0 points per game. Memphis could use some depth at the guard position as both Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty are averaging more than 35 minutes per game.

There were some discussions among UVA basketball followers that the current team could use Dante Harris this season, especially given the lack of depth the Cavaliers have at the point guard position. With Jalen Warley entering the portal (and transferring to Gonzaga) and Christian Bliss still sidelined with injury, Dai Dai Ames is the only available point guard on the roster. When Ames was hurt, that left Andrew Rohde as the team's primary ball-handler. It never seemed to be a real feasible option to have Harris return to the court for the Cavaliers, but now it's a done deal with Harris transferring to Memphis.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.