There will be more waiting for Arizona freshman guard Kerr Kriisa, but he at least knows there is a light at the end of the tunnel after the NCAA declared him eligible for the 2020-21 season on Monday.
“I am extremely excited that Kerr will get the opportunity to play at some point this season,” Arizona head coach Sean Miller said in a statement provided by the program. “I am happy for both Kerr and his family that they know he has a clear and bright future at the University of Arizona. Our coaching staff, our team and our fans all love having him as a part of our program.”
Per the stipulations of the decision, Kriisa will not be permitted to play until February, however. As of now his first game on the floor for the Wildcats will not come until Feb. 6 on the road against Colorado.
Kriisa, who played for Zalgiris in Lithuania before arriving to UA, earned plenty of praise as a potential standout at the college level coming into his career with the Wildcats and he is someone Miller has had confidence about heading into the season.
"You want to put your best players on the court," Miller previously said. "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."
The freshman left the team for a brief time earlier this season to play in a tournament with the Estonian National Team since he had yet to be ruled eligible to play for the Wildcats. Miller permitted him to participate in the event before he returned to Tucson recently and has since rejoined the team for practice.
Kriisa will give UA some more depth in the backcourt late in the season as he is another player who can handle the ball. So far starting point guard James Akinjo has played 33.2 minutes per game this season, which is over four minutes more than the next player on the list.
"Obviously Kerr is a great addition to our team, but next man up," Akinjo said earlier this season after the Wildcats played their opener without the freshman point guard. "We have enough to do what we want to do."
The Wildcats will be back in action Tuesday at 5 p.m. MST against Montana as UA returns from its first road trip of the season for a matchup at McKale Center.
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