ARIZONA BASKETBALL

Kerr Kriisa entering transfer portal after 3rd year with Wildcats

Mar 22, 2023, 10:50 AM | Updated: 10:54 am

Starting point guard Kerr Kriisa will enter the transfer portal after playing his third year with the Arizona Wildcats, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

The junior led the Pac-12 at 5.1 assists per game to go with 9.9 points and 37% shooting both from the field and from three.

Kriisa wrote his intentions to depart on Instagram:

“Tucson!❤️ Keeping it short and sweet. Thank you for unforgettable 3 years that I had here,” he wrote. “So thankful and grateful for all moments that I shared with my teammates. Bear down, always!”

The Estonian joined Arizona as a recruit of former head coach Sean Miller midway through the 2020-21 season but appeared in just eight games as a freshman.

He entered the transfer portal that offseason as Miller was fired from the school before incoming head coach Tommy Lloyd convinced him to remain with Arizona.

Kriisa made a leap as a sophomore to follow that decision. The point guard started 31 games and despite his erratic three-point shooting helped the Wildcats reach the Sweet 16.

This past year, Kriisa led Arizona at 31.1 minutes per game and provided the same energy and playmaking to go with a three-point-centric offensive game.

The player likely to benefit the most from a Kriisa transfer is Kylan Boswell, who appeared in 35 games as a reclassified freshman.

Boswell averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 assists in 15.2 minutes per game in his first season. He shot 45% from the floor and 39% from three-point range in his limited minutes.

The Wildcats do not have lead guards as part of their 2023 recruiting class, which as of Kriisa’s transfer includes four-star wing K.J. Lewis.

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