Arizona's head coach Tommy Lloyd made it clear that his first step as the program's new head coach would be to meet with the current team. The Wildcats have already lost several players to the NCAA Transfer Portal with freshman guard Kerr Kriisa being among the players who decided to entertain other options outside of Tucson.
Wednesday, Draft Express reported that Kriisa would instead not be leaving the program and will remain with the Wildcats to play for Lloyd as his career moves forward. The versatile guard from Estonia is expected to remove his name from the transfer portal allowing him to focus on the remainder of his career at UA.
"Over the last week I've felt from their recruiting that they really want me here," Kriisa told Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. "I trust Tommy Lloyd 100% and I'm ready to get back to work."
Kriisa has remained around the team even after making his decision to enter the transfer portal, and he was part of the group of players that took part in the first workout under Lloyd at McKale Center on Tuesday.
The freshman guard played in just eight games during his first season as an NCAA eligibility issue kept him off the floor for the Wildcats until its road trip to the Mountain schools. He played 19 minutes in his college debut against Utah but didn't score his first basket until the following game against Colorado.
Kriisa's best performance came in UA's home loss to Oregon as he hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points to go along with five assists.
The 6-foot-3 guard is capable of handling both guard positions because his ability to facilitate and lead an offense while also being able to make shots from the perimeter. Lloyd's system should be a good fit for Kriisa, and he should earn ample playing time considering the lack of guards on the current UA roster.
Starting all-conference point guard James Akinjo originally declared for the NBA Draft before ultimately entering the transfer portal last week on the same day as Kriisa. If UA is not able to bring Akinjo back then Kriisa would be the most logical player to step into the starting point guard role for the Wildcats.
Arizona is also in pursuit of four-star point guard Tyty Washington, who recently included the Wildcats as part of his top six after backing away from a previous pledge to Creighton.
Arizona's 2020-21 current projected roster
PF Jordan Brown
* PG James Akinjo (in NCAA Transfer Portal)
* PF Daniel Batcho (in NCAA Transfer Portal)
The Sports Guys: Arizona hires Tommy Lloyd as its next basketball coach
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