This Halloween week has been spooky for the Virginia faithful and their men’s basketball program. Senior guard Jalen Warley utilized his opportunity to enter the transfer portal upon former head coach Tony Bennett’s retirement. Hours later, 2025 point guard Chance Mallory announced he will be reopening his recruitment and decommitting from Virginia while still considering the ‘Hoos.
I come bearing good news surrounding the position of point guard for the Virginia Cavaliers, though. Darrin “Dai Dai” Ames WILL play for Ron Sanchez and the Virginia Cavaliers in 2024, and I see him being able to contribute at a very high level this season.
Ames was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school and committed to Jerome Tang and the Kansas State Wildcats. He saw inconsistent minutes during his freshman season but showed plenty of upside when on the floor. Dai Dai has a game that can only be described as fearless. He is quick, can create his own shot, beat his man off the dribble with his crafty moves, challenge bigger bodies at the rim, and fly around on defense.
There is less than a week to go before Sanchez and the new-look Cavaliers take the court against Campbell. If anyone outside of this program’s inner circle tells you they know exactly how the point guard position will be utilized and who will consume most of the minutes, they are lying.
The departure of Jalen Warley makes this race to claim the “floor general” position between Ames and Christian Bliss. Bliss did not participate in either of the “secret” scrimmages the ‘Hoos competed in over the last two weeks due to a minor injury, and Ames only played in the contest last weekend against Georgetown.
I saw Dai Dai’s game firsthand during the blue-white scrimmage and was incredibly impressed. He easily gets by his defender, is strong with the ball, has a good-looking and confident shot, and is a Swiss army knife for his layup package around the rim.
The number one point I have to make in favor of Ames seeing the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position, is his ability to weave through defenses. This enables him to not only create his own shot but also find and create open shots for his teammates. Ames is aggressive in all facets of the game and can really help this “new-look” offense hit its stride as quickly as possible.
This is a quick nugget about Ames that will have me forever believing in his offensive ability. Not even two seasons ago in high school, he averaged 20 points, shot 53% from the floor, 40% from three, and dished out 4.5 assists per game. He scored a career-high 65 points on 28-41 (68%) shooting over Southland College Prep in his senior year at Kenwood.
You’re going to want to watch these highlights. Saying Ames is an “impressive” ball player is doing him an extreme disservice.
