Tommy Lloyd's to-do list grows with Kerr Kriisa's decision to enter transfer portal

Less than an hour before Arizona officially named Tommy Lloyd its new men’s basketball coach Wednesday, his to-do list was already forming.

UA freshman guard Kerr Kriisa said he would enter the transfer portal, according to a tweet from ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony, after showing promise for the Wildcats late last season.

“I’m hoping to hear what my options are, but I’m still open to returning to Arizona depending on how things shake out,” Kriisa told Givony.

While Kriisa and several other current UA players have not returned messages from the Star since Arizona fired Sean Miller as coach on April 7, there are signs that nearly all of them will have to be re-recruited by Lloyd in some form.

Perhaps most notably, freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin removed all pictures and highlights of him in a UA uniform from his Instagram page except for his profile picture.

The description he listed under his profile name says “athlete.”

A third freshman starter last season, forward Azuolas Tubelis, has not addressed his status but expressed appreciation for his former coach after the firing.

“Best coach there is,” Tubelis tweeted. “Thank you.”

Sophomore center Christian Koloko, meanwhile, said “appreciate everything you did for me coach” in a tweet. Freshman wing Dalen Terry retweeted a list of Miller’s accomplishments that Miller’s son, Austin, had posted.

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Guard James Akinjo said “appreciate BIG CAT my guy.” Akinjo may be leaving the UA anyway, since he is currently testing the NBA Draft and could turn professional.

All three of the Wildcats’ fall signees are questionable to wear a Wildcats uniform at this point, too.

Brent Merritt, who coaches wing Shane Nowell at Eastside Catholic High School in the Seattle area, said via email Wednesday that he wasn’t sure if Nowell would consider playing for Lloyd at UA.

The club-ball coach for guard K.J. Simpson said last week that Simpson would receive a release from his letter-of-intent, though he still has not officially decommitted.

A third signee, guard Shane Dezonie of New Hampshire’s Brewster Academy, has not returned multiple messages seeking comment on his plans.

Arizona also received a commitment from Eastern Washington forward Kim Aiken a day before Miller was fired, according to Verbal Commits. However, Aiken has not posted anything indicating he is leaving the Eagles at this point.

Arizona has already lost four current players to the transfer portal: Guards Terrell Brown and Jemarl Baker and forwards Ira Lee and Daniel Batcho. If Akinjo and Kriisa leave, the Wildcats would have 10 players lined up for next season — three of them starters. Of course, that’s assuming Lloyd can retain them.

The Wildcats finished with Akinjo, Kriisa, Mathurin, Tubelis and Koloko in their starting lineup. Terry, Jordan Brown and Terrell Brown played key roles off the bench.

Kriisa jumped into the starting lineup in just his third game after missing the first two months of the season because of NCAA clearinghouse issues related to arrangements that were made for him to play for a European club team.

The Estonian freshman quickly become a favorite of Miller’s because of his toughness and 3-point shooting. Kriisa averaging 5.5 points per game and shot 36.8% from 3-point range over eight games for the Wildcats.