Young Wildcats need Kerr Kriisa’s 'fire' more than ever

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On an Arizona team of talented but soft-spoken players, point guard Kerr Kriisa stands out.

He directs the team on and off the court with a style all his own.

“The guy’s fire,” head coach Tommy Lloyd said of Kriisa. “A fiery personality and he brings it every day.”

For Kriisa, that competitive fire motivates his teammates and irritates his opponents.

“If that makes us win games, then I will do it,” Kriisa said of his on-court emotion. “I just wanna do enough that we win the game. And uh, doesn’t matter what I have to do in order to win the game. But that’s what I’m trying to do.”

“I love him. He’s easy to coach,” said Lloyd. “He listens when you coach him. I love it. I think it’s a good thing if your players want to win. And he wants to win and he’s not afraid of it.”

Last season, Kriisa directed Arizona to a 33-4 record and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The point guard averaged nearly 10 points and five assists per game.

But Kriisa struggled during march madness, shooting only 2 for 17—all on three-pointers. Kriisa, playing through a badly sprained ankle, admits his confidence was also hurting.

Now, he says Arizona’s bitter exit in the Sweet 16 is motivation and that his confidence is back.

“I think it’s day and night, for sure,” said Kriisa. “When you get injured, you’re playing through injury. You gotta be one of the best players in the world to be confident at the time. So I feel like I was really lacking [confidence] during the tournament. Wasn’t really sure about myself. But it is what it is and onto the next one.”

This upcoming season, Arizona is replacing three starters—Bennedict Mathurin, Dalen Terry and Christian Koloko—who were NBA draft picks this spring.

But Kriisa is undeterred.

“Our self belief is really high and we know we can do better than last year,” he said.

To do that, Kriisa will have to take on an even larger leadership role, something he’s already doing with freshman and fellow Estonian Henri Veesar.

“Now he’s kinda like my little son,” Kriisa said of Veesar. “So I gotta take care of him and push him in the practices. Because we really need him.”

Kriisa played for the Estonian national team this summer as part of the FIBA Europe EuroBasket competition, earning valuable experience facing NBA superstars like Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“They showed us why they’re the best and their commitment to the game,” said Kriisa. “And what they’re bringing to the table every day when they play basketball.”

But Kriisa says he’s not thinking about going pro himself at this point. He says, at least for now, Tucson is where he’s meant to be.

“All those other Kentuckys and whatever, no. This is it right now, right here: Arizona, U of A basketball,” he said. “Every day is a sold out crowd. How everybody are super tight here. This is what I love and this why we play basketball at Arizona.”

That attitude makes Kriisa the Wildcats’ heart and soul. But on a young team this year, he’ll also have to be the backbone.