Freshman guard Kerr Kriisa was back on the Wildcatsβ bench Wednesday and UA coach Sean Miller said he will likely be cleared to practice by the end of the week.
But thereβs still no telling if heβll actually be allowed to play in games anytime soon.
Krissa has not been cleared by the NCAAβs Eligibility Center and it remains unclear if things are progressing or just stuck. Kriisa did play for Lithuanian club Zalgiris last season, including a brief stint with its senior professional team, but told Estonian reporters that he did not sign a professional contract.
βWe donβt have any update in terms of his amateurism,β Miller said. βBut from a COVID perspective, heβs down the home stretch of being fully cleared. Playing in the FIBA championship, he was tested every day there so itβs not as if he got away from it. Right now weβre in the end of quarantine and itβs nice to have him back.
βHeβs a great kid, obviously a very good player, somebody our team loves to be around. And he makes our practices very competitive because not only is he a quality player, but heβs a great competitor.β
James Akinjo missed all four 3-pointers he tried and was the Wildcatsβ sixth-leading scorer Wednesday, but Miller went out of his way to praise him after he came up with seven assists to only two turnovers and recorded three steals.
βI canβt say enough good things about James Akinjo,β Miller said. βHe is a tough, tough kid. Heβs a very good competitor. A competitor isnβt just `Whatβs he like on game night?β Itβs like `Whatβs he like every day.β
βJames loves this game. He practices hard. He sets the tone for us, both on offense and defense. His toughness is in playing with a chip on his shoulder. It can be a contagious thing. So I think thatβs part of our identity. Our young guys are fun to coach and theyβre eager to improve. I think theyβre improving.β
Later, Miller added:
βJames has that pitbull quality to him. You feel it. He loves the big moment, he competes, he loves to play the game. Tonight we had some good transition opportunities and he was instrumental in almost all of them. He did a really good job finding his teammates.β
Arizona hasnβt left McKale Center to play any of its games so far, and the games have been against three low-major teams plus Bakersfield, now of the Big West Conference.
If that makes the numbers look better, Miller isn't denying it.
βI was watching my brotherβs team, Indiana, play Florida State in Tallahassee tonight,β Miller said, referring to Indianaβs 69-67 overtime loss. βIf we were in Tallahassee, we might not look as good obviously. So weβre taking advantage of being here in Tucson. Weβre taking advantage of good and hard practices. Weβve had a good stretch of health, and hopefully that can continue.β
Not only did center Christian Koloko have six points over an explosive stretch early in the second half, but he also blocked four shots for the second game in a row.
βThis is the best game that heβs played,β Miller said. βHeβs had eight shot blocks combined in the last two games and those were eight blocks that led to us getting the ball. You guys knew this a year ago when you watched Christian, but heβs another one of these young players that just needs to gain experience and I think the more experience he gets the better heβll become.β
Arizona is on track to play its fourth game in only eight days β a rarity anytime, but especially this season -- with its rescheduled game Saturday against UTEP. The Miners and Wildcats were scheduled to meet on Nov. 29 but UTEP pulled out because of COVID issues.
The Miners are now back in action and lost at Saint Maryβs, 73-61, on Tuesday.
βUTEP is talented and they have a couple of individual players who have a chance to play beyond college, maybe eve in the NBA,β Miller said. βRodney (Terry, UTEP coach) does a good job. They play with great energy and effort. I think they might be the most talented group that weβve faced this year when we play on Saturday.β
Miller said he also respected Bakersfield's toughness and coach Rod Barnes, adding that he really appreciated their effort in coming to Tucson. The Roadrunners played a home game on Monday, then bused to Tucson for nine hours on Tuesday before playing the game on Wednesday.
CSUB had been contracted to receive $95,000 for playing the game, since it was a deal signed pre-pandemic. Most games contracted since then have been for smaller amounts.
