Virginia redshirt freshman guard Christian Bliss, who has missed the season’s first 14 games with a foot injury, is able to practice but is choosing to not play, Interim Coach Ron Sanchez said Monday.
“He’s just not feeling good enough to get on the floor,” Sanchez said, during the ACC men’s basketball coaches’ weekly media call. “That’s a player decision. We as coaches aren’t going to force him to get out there, if he says, ‘My foot is bothering me and I don’t feel like I can perform at the level that I want to.’”
The injury has sidelined Bliss for two months now, a bafflingly long period for an ailment initially labeled “day-to-day” by Sanchez Dec. 7 in a press conference after a game at Southern Methodist. Sanchez’s next update came this Saturday, after Virginia’s home loss against Louisville, when he fielded a question asking for an update on Bliss. He said he had no update.
The situation finally gained a modicum of clarity Monday. Bliss has the option to practice, Sanchez said. But the coach could not confirm whether doctors had officially cleared the player.
“I will have to talk to our trainers about that,” Sanchez said. “I think that, right now, we've done everything we could. This is more of a player feeling. If he doesn't feel healthy, then he’s not.”
Bliss played in Virginia’s Blue-White scrimmage two weeks before the season started but emerged in street clothes for the team’s first game. Sanchez clarified afterward that his guard was grappling with a foot injury, saying they hoped to have him back soon.
But since the “day-to-day” update, things had grown unclear. Bliss wears a black tracksuit during games. He recently buzzed his hair. He seems happy on the sideline. That is about all anyone could discern until Monday.
Bliss redshirted last season, reclassifying and joining the program a year early. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, he surfaced from high school as a three-star shooting guard prospect. He and the coaching staff decided bringing him in early and using a redshirt year would help him develop physically and learn the system.
If Bliss continues to miss time, he could be eligible for a hardship waiver, known colloquially as a medical redshirt. It would allow him to retain a year of eligibility, leaving him with four full years of eligibility.
Part of NCAA Bylaw 12.8.4 which outlines hardship waivers states that the injury must occur before the first competition date of the second half of the season. Bliss meets that criteria, having missed every game this season. The injury must also result in “incapacity to compete for the remainder of that playing season.” That would require missing more than two more months worth of games.
Bliss returning might benefit Virginia. The Cavaliers are on pace for their lowest overall ranking on kenpom.com in the site’s 29-year existence, and they presently seem miles away from even clambering onto the NCAA Tournament bubble.
They are also functioning with a heavily depleted guard corps. Jalen Warley transferred out before the season, an April knee injury derailed sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude’s campaign and then there’s Bliss. The scarcity of point guards has shunted junior guard Andrew Rohde into a ball-handling role and shifted responsibility onto the shoulders of sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames and senior guard Taine Murray.
“We’ll continue to nurse [Bliss], and our doctors have done a fantastic job with him,” Sanchez said. “Right now it’s a decision that he has to feel good enough and comfortable enough and confident with his foot in order for him to get on the floor.”
Virginia next plays Wednesday at 11 p.m. at California.
Read More
Mike Hollins named recipient of the 2025 NCAA Inspiration Award
By Xander Tilock | 7 hours agoAs he continues to assist the Cavaliers as a coach, his legacy of inspiration will only continue to grow.
Cedeno leads wrestling with program’s first individual win at Southern Scuffle since 2018
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdayCedeno's win cemented the program's blistering run of individual tournament wins.
As harsh firsts accumulate, men’s basketball sputters to loss against Louisville
By Michael Liebermann | 3 days agoLouisville triumphed at Virginia for the first time since 1990.
