ARIZONA BASKETBALL

Lloyd: Arizona PG Kerr Kriisa ‘doing everything he can’ to play

Mar 14, 2022, 10:54 AM

Kerr Kriisa #25 of the Arizona Wildcats uses a crutch as he reacts on the bench during the Pac-12 C...

Kerr Kriisa #25 of the Arizona Wildcats uses a crutch as he reacts on the bench during the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament semifinals at T-Mobile Arena on March 11, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

A picture of a bruised, purple ankle posted Sunday by Arizona Wildcats point guard Kerr Kriisa may not have lent much promise regarding his availability to play through an injury this coming week.

But Kriisa and Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd believe the point guard, with a bit of rehab work, could make an appearance. Whether that will make him available for a Friday game against the play-in winner of Wright State or Bryant remains to be seen.

“The update is he’s doing everything he can to prepare himself and give himself the opportunity to play,” Lloyd told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Monday. “These trainers are amazing these days and they’re well-versed in treating this type of ankle injury. A lot of times you can make a rapid recovery.

“We’re hopeful, but at the end of the day I think we proved this last weekend no matter who we roll out there and who we go against, we’ll be competitive. Our mindset is lining these games up one-by-one and trying to the next one.”

Kriisa “assured” Stadium’s Jeff Goodman he would be playing this week, in either or both of the Wildcats’ games in the rounds of 64 or 32.

The sophomore is averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 assists per game while shooting at a 35% clip from three-point range. He takes 7.1 of his 8.7 attempts per game from deep.

Kriisa injured his ankle in Arizona’s Pac-12 Tournament opener on Thursday.

Justin Kier replaced Kriisa in the starting lineup as the Wildcats rolled past Colorado and UCLA to win the conference tournament title, while starter Dalen Terry took on a larger role without the point guard.

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