Georgia transfer guard Justin Kier announced Wednesday he will play for Arizona, choosing the Wildcats over Oklahoma, Marquette, Utah and Penn State.
🐻⬇️ @ArizonaMBB pic.twitter.com/GbhjLXf8o6
— Justin Kier (@Jkiiiiii__) May 26, 2021
A graduate transfer who earlier played at George Mason, Kier started all 25 games he played in last season for Georgia while averaging 9.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 36.6% from 3-point range.
Expected to play next season despite being a two-time transfer, Kier will bring much-needed experience to the Wildcats. Overall, Kier has started in 120 college games between stints at George Mason and Georgia. Kier also graduated from George Mason a year ago and turns 21 on Sunday.
Earlier this month, Kier became Georgia's fourth starter and seventh player overall to leave when he decided to enter the transfer portal earlier this month while Georgia coach Tom Crean said he "loved" coaching Kier and supported his decision to leave. The Bulldogs on Monday received a transfer in from Aaron Cook, who played under Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd last season at Gonzaga.
Kier's commitment gives the Wildcats 11 players for next season. New UA coach Tommy Lloyd retained six players from last season, along with fall signee Shane Nowell, while pulling in Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo, Utah transfer Pelle Larsson, Parisian freshman Adama Bal and now Kier.
The Wildcats have two more remaining scholarships to offer if they choose. They may want to keep at least one open because of possible future NCAA sanctions that could reduce their number of available scholarships.
Here's how UA's 2021-22 roster looks as of now:
Position/Name/Year/Height/Weight/Hometown
G/Adama Bal/Fr./6-6/180/Paris
C/Oumar Ballo/So./7-0/260/Koulikoro, Mali
C/Christian Koloko/Jr./7-0/220/Douala, Cameroon
G/Justin Kier/6-4/190/Grottoes, Va.
G/Kerr Kriisa/So./6-2/165/Tartu, Estonia
G/Pelle Larsson/Fr./6-5/216/Nacka, Sweden
F/Bennedict Mathurin/So./6-6/195/Montreal
G/Shane Nowell/Fr./6-5/190/Bellevue, Washington
F/Dalen Terry/So./6-7/190/Phoenix
F/Azoulas Tubelis/So./6-10/240/Vilnius, Lithuania
F/Tautvilas Tubelis/So./6-7/210/Vilnius, Lithuania
