Arizona Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2021-22 season
By Tuck Clarry
Point Guard
Kerr Kriisa is the main beneficiary of Akinjo’s decision to transfer. He’s the lone true point guard on the team. Because of his relationship to a Lithuanian pro team, he sat out the first 17 games of last season. The 6-foot-2 Estonian Kriisa played in just eight games last season but has the pedigree of a solid initiator that looks to pass first.
He wasn’t able to showcase a lot of scoring in those games, missing all of his shots inside of the paint and relying on his perimeter shot where he averaged 37%. He’s a bit of a streaky shooter, having half of his 3-point makes coming in two games. If Kriisa meets his potential in his sophomore season, it opens up a lot of possibilities for the rest of the positions on the court.
The Wildcats do have the benefit of two transfers coming into the program with the ability to help ballhandling duties. Pelle Larsson played point guard quite a bit with Utah but is more of a combo guard and Justin Kier could help steady the offense if things are dire. Kier could especially be the stabilizer thanks to his experience. He’s a sixth-year guard who started all 25 games for the Georgia Bulldogs last season.
Ultimately, this is the biggest hurdle for Lloyd in his first season as head coach. While he has veterans and solid talent surrounding the point guard position, making the game smooth for Kriisa–who has the talent to lead the offense–to feel confident early on.