Former Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa announces he will transfer to West Virginia

Former Arizona point guard Kerr Kriisa has decided West Virginia is the place he belongs now.

The Estonian junior announced via Instagram on Wednesday that he will play next season for the Mountaineers, posting a graphic that included West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and the title of the famous John Denver song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” in which West Virginia is called “almost heaven.”

“Yes, I know the song by heart,” Kriisa said in his post.

After traveling 5,600 miles from Estonia to begin his college basketball career under the heavy COVID restrictions of 2020, Kriisa made Tucson his home for three seasons and was the Wildcats’ starting point guard for the past two.

But, after announcing he would leave Arizona on March 22, Kriisa said on a podcast that moving on created a “fresh start” for him and the UA program.

Immediately, Kriisa became one of college basketball’s more sought-after transfers. He is ranked No. 31 on 247’s list of transfers while On3 ranks him No. 59 in NIL valuation, at $132,000.

Kriisa took recruiting visits to Nebraska and West Virginia, while also reportedly receiving interest from Xavier and former UA coach Sean Miller, who coached Kriisa during his freshman season with the Wildcats in 2020-21.

Kriisa chose his new home exactly two weeks after announcing he was leaving the Wildcats, saying he felt “very grateful” for having spent three years with them.

“Looking around now (in) college basketball, I feel like there’s not a lot of guys who would stay in place three years, so I’m really happy I got into (a) good situation (with) great coaches,” Kriisa said on the March 22 A Nameless Podcast.

“I feel really calm inside. I’m really happy with my decision. Of course, I’m sad to leave Tucson, but it is what it is.”

Had he stayed at Arizona, Kriisa would have had to share the backcourt with sophomore-to-be Kylan Boswell, a former five-star high school prospect who is expected to take on a bigger role next season.

During his three seasons with the Wildcats, Kriisa’s role had continued to grow. He committed to Arizona and Miller in spring 2020 but was ineligible to play for the first 17 games of his freshman season in 2020-21 because of arrangements that were made for him to play for a European club team.

Kriisa then moved into the starting lineup in just his third game, having quickly become a favorite of Miller for his toughness and 3-point shooting. He started five of eight games as a freshman, averaging 5.5 points while shooting 36.8% from 3-point range.

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Miller was fired after that season, and Kriisa entered the transfer portal a day after UA hired Tommy Lloyd to replace Miller. But Kriisa withdrew a week later after getting to know the new coach and his up-tempo style of play.

“Run it back,” Kriisa posted to Twitter.

Lloyd supported Kriisa steadfastly throughout the past two seasons, even as fans were sometimes critical of his personality and his production.

While embracing the fact that he was named after legendary former UA point guard Steve Kerr — because Kriisa’s father was a fan of the 1990s-era Chicago Bulls — Kriisa wore his first name on the back of his jersey. Kriisa has said he had no idea Steve Kerr played college basketball at UA until Miller recruited him.

Under Lloyd, Kriisa became a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2021-22, averaging 9.7 points, 4.7 assists and shooting 33.6% from 3-point range. As a junior this season, Kriisa led the Pac-12 in assists with an average of 5.14 per game and was sixth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.98.

But Kriisa suffered significant injuries in the past two Pac-12 Tournaments that limited his postseason production. He missed three games after suffering a severely sprained ankle in the 2022 quarterfinals and separated his shoulder in the quarterfinals this past season.

Having averaged 9.9 points and shot 36.6% from 3-point range as a junior this season, Kriisa was just 4 of 20 from long range in the Wildcats’ final four games after the shoulder separation.

Kriisa will remain in the UA record books for posting two triple-doubles — last season at Utah and early this season against Southern — while he posted eight or more assists seven times this season.

“He’s got such a high IQ. He’s got a great motor, and he’s competitive,” Lloyd said earlier this season. “You can coach him on a cerebral level where he understands what’s going on. He’ll look at you, he’ll nod, and for the most part he’ll go out and do it.”

Lloyd stuck with Kriisa until the end in the Wildcats’ first-round loss to 15th-seeded Princeton on March 16, when the point guard played 36 minutes but shot just 1 of 7 from 3-point range with four turnovers to two assists. Kriisa was playing through the sore shoulder and a cut right (shooting) hand while the Wildcats gave up a 12-point lead in the second half en route to their shocking four-point loss.

Asked after the Princeton game whether he planned to return to Arizona, Kriisa declined to say.

“It’s a little bit early to talk about, especially after a loss like this,” he said. “Probably gonna take a little bit off and have to watch the film and try to get better.”