Arizona has received a commitment from 19-year-old Estonian point guard Kerr Kriisa, according to ESPN, which said he is the top European prospect to commit to a U.S. college in 2020.
A 6-foot-2 guard, Kriisa averaged 14.3 points and 5.7 assists per game last season for Zalgiris II, a Kaunas-based team in the second-division Lithuania NKL.
Kriisa also played for the Estonian senior national team on Feb. 23 in a FIBA European qualifier against Italy -- collecting five assists while shooting 0 for 5 over 18 minutes -- and a FIBA.com story last July said he was a "big part of the country's future."
As FIBA.com noted, Krissa's name is famous in Estonian basketball. His father, Valmo, was a guard for Estonia's national teams from 1995 to 2011, becoming the Estonian League player of the year in 2007. He played professionally for 24 years until retiring in 2017, when he had a chance to face his son.
Kriisa told ESPN that the Arizona coaching staff and the chance to develop at Arizona stood out to him. He also said he would go to Arizona "without expectations" and try to prove himself among other players.
Kriisa will join an Arizona backcourt that includes combo guards Jemarl Baker, James Akinjo and Terrell Brown, while incoming freshmen wings Dalen Terry and Benn Mathurin also have point guard experience. It's still unknown if combo Brandon Williams will return to the Wildcats.
"Year after year, I started to follow college basketball more closely and realized I could be effective there also," Kriisa told ESPN. "It's a completely different style of basketball, but I believe it can be good for me to challenge myself."
247 Sports said Kriisa wasn't initially planning to play college basketball but wound up generating interest from schools such as BYU, Oregon and Syracuse.
Having long evaluated him, ESPN draft analyst Mike Schmitz said on Twitter that Krissa is competitive with "touch and IQ."
Big news for Arizona landing Kerr Kriisa. I remember first evaluating Kriisa as a 15-year-old in Tallinn, Estonia at the 2016 Baltic Sea Cup. The fiery 6-3 guard has had strong showings since then at the FIBA level & BWB Global. Competitive w/ touch + IQ. https://t.co/2geAFNh3cs
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) April 18, 2020
ESPN's Fran Fraschilla said the Estonian won't be the "best Kerr to play for the Wildcats," but is a solid playmaker and shooter.
19-year old Estonian PG, Kerr Kriisa is headed to âĻ@APlayersProgramâŠ. He wonât be the best Kerr to play for Wildcats but solid playmaker & shooter. Among teammates in Lithuania this year are former college stars Nigel Hayes & Thomas Walkup. pic.twitter.com/1tW6PKbeFB
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) April 18, 2020
Overtime Europe posted some video highlights of Kriisa here.
At age 18 last October, Kriisa scored his first point in Euroleague play, earning a big ovation from a crowd of 14,828 in Kaunas, Lithuania.
A 5-year old is signalling for unsportmanship foul in Kaunas! Later in the game, 18-year old debutant Kerr Kriisa shoots his first ever Euroleague FT's and a sell out Zalgirio Arena crowd is on his feet. Hats off Lithuanians! đđđđđ pic.twitter.com/DMAWBuMmYc
— Chris Kaouris (@CKaouris) October 25, 2019
The addition of Kriisa gives Arizona 10 players lined up for the 2020-21 season, with three more scholarships to offer. The Wildcats are also believed to be recruiting international big men, Minnesota high school guard Kerwin Walton and Purdue grad transfer Matt Haarms.
Here's Arizona's full roster to date:
James Akinjo* Jr. G 6-0 Richmond, Calif.
Jemarl Baker Jr. G 6-4Â Menifee, Calif.
Jordan Brown So. F 6-11 Roseville, Calif.
Terrell Brown Sr. G 6-1 Seattle
Christian Koloko So. C 7-0 Douala, Cameroon
Kerr Kriisa Fr. G 6-2 Tartu, Estonia
Ira Lee Sr. F 6-7 Los Angeles
Bennedict Mathurin Fr. F 6-6 Montreal
Dalen Terry Fr. G 6-6 Tempe
Brandon Williams** So. G 6-3 Los Angeles
* Will not be eligible until December 2020, unless he receives a waiver to play earlier.
**Tentative
