Arizona continues to move ahead with its reentry plan for athletes as the start of the fall semester looms in just 10 days. The UA basketball team has the added task of bringing in several international players, but that group has slowly started to arrive. Arizona greeted freshman point guard Kerr Kriisa with a literal warm welcome this week as he arrived to Tucson from Estonia where he put together an impressive summer before his arrival. The average yearly temperature in Estonia is 41.4 degrees, so there will certainly be an acclimation period for the European newcomer.
Kriisa is one of several international players set to suit up for the Wildcats this season and his role will be an important one. Kriisa will be tasked with being one of the players to replace departed point guard Nico Mannion who decided to bypass the remainder of his college eligibility with the Wildcats after just one season.
Mannion averaged 14 points and 5.3 assists per game with the Wildcats last season leaving Kriisa with some big shoes to fill. The Estonian point guard, who played in Lithuania last season, will not be alone as he will be just one of the newcomers in line to contribute as the team's primary ball handler.
Georgetown transfer James Akinjo is a capable point guard as well and his game differs enough from Kriisa's that both could end up on the floor at the same time. Kriisa is capable of getting hot from behind the 3-point line as he showed a few weeks ago in the Baltic Way Cup event when he hit eight shots from beyond the arc in a big win over Lithuania.
“Kerr is just an amazing playmaker," UA head coach Sean Miller said of Kriisa back in the spring. "If you watch him play in the variety of FIBA tournaments with the different teams that he’s played on, one thing always holds true with him and that is he makes the right play. He loves to pass the ball. I love his ability to shoot. He is a deadly 3-point shooter when left open, but in the open court, playing pick-and-roll basketball, playing in transition.
“And because Kerr is I would say every bit 6-foot-2, maybe 6-foot-3, that he could be on the court with a variety of players.
Even though there will be other pieces around him and he won't have to go at it alone as the Wildcats' point guard this season, there are certainly going to be high expectations for the incoming freshman at Arizona this season.
"The days of just playing a point guard, two big wings, a power forward and a center are over," Miller said. "You want to put your best players on the court. I think this year our best players a lot of times we’ll have lineups that have three guards that play different styles. And Kerr is somebody that we’re really excited about. I also love his competitive spirit."
Arizona is expecting to have its entire team in place and on campus in time for the start of the fall semester Aug. 24 with several newcomers already on campus including four-star wing Dalen Terry and Canadian wing Bennedict Mathurin.
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