Kerr Kriisa

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Kerr Kriisa
Kerr Kriisa (cropped).jpg
Kriisa with Arizona in 2021
No. 25 – Arizona Wildcats
PositionPoint guard
LeaguePac-12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-01-02) 2 January 2001 (age 20)
Tartu, Estonia
NationalityEstonian
Listed height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight81.5 kg (180 lb)
Career information
CollegeArizona (2020–present)
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2017University of Tartu
2017–2018Brose Bamberg
2017–2018→Baunach Young Pikes
2018–2020Žalgiris Kaunas
2018–2020→Žalgiris-2 Kaunas
2019–2020→Prienai

Kerr Kriisa (born 2 January 2001) is an Estonian college basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 m) and 180 pounds (81.6 kg), he plays the point guard position. A native of Tartu, he has competed with the Estonian junior national teams on multiple occasions.

Early career[]

2016–2018: Early years[]

Kriisa played for the youth teams of his hometown club BC Tartu since he was 12 years old and debuted with University of Tartu first team during the 2016–17 KML season at the age of 15. In September 2017 he signed with Brose Bamberg and started playing in their affiliate team Baunach Young Pikes.[1] His stint in Germany was cut short due to periostitis and he returned to Estonia for treatment.[2]

2018–2020: Žalgiris Kaunas[]

In August 2018, he signed with Žalgiris Kaunas.[3] In his first year with the Kaunas team Kriisa played in the Lithuanian second league (NKL) team Žalgiris-2 and also for the youth team in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. He was awarded with the MVP and All-Tournament Team honours at the Kaunas Qualifying Tournament. Kriisa averaged 17.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 7 games of the 2018–19 season of Next Generation Tournament.[4]

Kriisa made his EuroLeague debut for Žalgiris on 25 October 2019 and scored his first point from a free throw as Žalgiris defeated LDLC ASVEL 70–56 in the Regular Season Round 4 game.[5] In November 2019 Kriisa was sent on loan to another Lithuanian team CBet Prienai to gain experience in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[6] His loan spell ended in January 2020 and Kriisa returned to Žalgiris-2.[7]

College career[]

2020–present: Arizona Wildcats[]

On April 18, 2020, Kriisa committed to play college basketball in the United States for Arizona. Analysts considered him to be the best European recruit considering playing at the collegiate level.[8] After head coach Sean Miller was fired, he entered the transfer portal while leaving the option of returning to Arizona open. New head coach Tommy Lloyd was able to recruit him back to Arizona for his sophomore season.[9]

National team career[]

Kriisa has represented the Estonia national U-16 team at the 2016 and 2017 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championships and the Estonia national U-18 team at the 2019 FIBA Europe Under-18 Division B Championship.[10]

Career statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2019–20 Žalgiris Kaunas 1 0 2.1 .000 .000 .500 .0 .0 .0 .0 1.0 .0
Career 1 0 2.1 .000 .000 .500 .0 .0 .0 .0 1.0 .0

College[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Arizona 8 5 22.9 .333 .368 1.000 .5 2.4 .4 .0 5.5

Personal life[]

Kerr is the son of former Estonia international Valmo Kriisa.[11] He is named after Steve Kerr, who also played basketball at the University of Arizona.[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "Kerr Kriisa siirdub Saksamaale Brose Bambergi noortesüsteemi". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 6 September 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Vigastatud Kerr Kriisa lahkus Bambergist". ERR Sport (in Estonian). 15 January 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Kerr Kriisa sõlmis lepingu Leedu tippklubi Kaunase Žalgirisega". Postimees Sport (in Estonian). 6 August 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Kerr Kriisa 2018-19 ANGT statistics". ADIDAS Next Generation Tournament. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Zalgiris Kaunas vs. LDLD ASVEL Villerubanne - Game". EuroLeague. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Leedu portaal: Kerr Kriisa liitub sealse kõrgliigaklubiga". Korvpall24. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.(in Estonian)
  7. ^ "Kerr Kriisa naaseb Žalgirisse: mängunälg läks Prienais väga suureks". Delfi Sport. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.(in Estonian)
  8. ^ Givony, Jonathan (18 April 2020). "Top international prospect Kerr Kriisa commits to Arizona". ESPN. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  9. ^ Kelapire, Ryan (21 April 2021). "Kerr Kriisa withdraws from transfer portal, will stay at Arizona". Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Kerr KRIISA at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division B 2019". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  11. ^ "TIPPHETKED ja FOTOD: Valmo ja Kerr Kriisa tegid Tartu võidumängus Eesti korvpalliajalugu". Sport (in Estonian). 24 February 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Big-name pickup: Wildcats go to Estonia to land recruit named after former UA star Steve Kerr".

External links[]

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