What the Addition of Transfer Kerr Kriisa Means for WVU
West Virginia made its return to the NCAA Tournament this March after a one-year absence but had a brief stay, getting bounced in the first round by No. 8 seed Maryland.
In order for the Mountaineers to dance again next March, they'll need to have another successful offseason in the transfer portal as they look to replace the production of Kedrian Johnson, Erik Stevenson, and Emmitt Matthews. Tre Mitchell and Jimmy Bell Jr. also have decisions to make about their future, meaning WVU could be forced to replace its entire starting five from this season. Mitchell seems to be leaning toward a return while Bell's future remains uncertain.
Over the last few weeks, WVU has reached out to several players in the portal including one high-profile name, Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa. Wednesday afternoon, Kriisa chose West Virginia over Nebraska, Xavier, and a host of others.
So, how big of a deal is it that the Mountaineers have landed Kriisa? Calling it huge would be an understatement.
Bob Huggins has spent the last two seasons starting an off-ball guard at the point in Kedrian Johnson. Keddy played extremely well and was arguably the best defender WVU had but he was asked to play outside of his true position because of the lack of point guards on the roster. At times, the offense became really stagnant and the ball would stick. WVU finished the year 7th in the Big 12 Conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.00). Kriisa, who was the PAC 12's assist leader this past season (5.2 apg), would help fix that issue.
Aside from his ability to facilitate the rock, Kriisa is also a fairly dangerous three-point shooter, knocking down 36% of his shots from behind the arc. Having a guard that can do a little of both will help open up the floor and take some attention off of Tre Mitchell in the post, should he return. More importantly, Kriisa's addition allows Joe Toussaint to continue to come off of the bench which is probably what Bob Huggins would prefer. He needs to have a guy that can come in and provide a spark defensively, which is what Toussaint does best. Having him in the starting lineup would take away from his aggressiveness on that end of the floor to some extent in an effort to stay out of foul trouble.
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