Pope: Kriisa brings boldness to UK roster

Published 2:20 pm Friday, May 3, 2024

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Kentucky coach Mark Pope added another veteran guard to his roster on Thursday with the addition of West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa.

Kriista played for three years at Arizona before transferring to West Virginia last season. He averaged 11 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Mountaineers last season. During his four-year career, Kriisa has scored 9.7 points per game to go along with 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds a game in 99 games. he started 93 of those contests.

Kentucky coach Mark Pope said Kriisa is “one of the best shooters in the country.”

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“I feel like I’ve been recruiting him for the last five or six years since he was a prep player,” Pope said. “He is one of the most experienced guards in all of college basketball. Kerr played on some great Arizona teams and then, last year, in the hallowed halls of West Virginia.

“He has a competitive spirit that overflows in every way conceivable. Kerr will have a massive impact on our team on the court and in the locker room. Kentucky fans are going to love his bold personality.”

Prior to his three-year career at Arizona, Kriisa spent time playing for Prienai CBet and Zalgiris II Kaunsas in Lithuania. He has experience playing with the Estonian national team and was a driving force behind the nation’s first-ever win over the Lithuanian national team in the summer of 2020.